Jury to consider verdict in trial of pair accused of plot to kill Jews
Walid Saadaoui and Amar Hussein are said to have wanted to kill as many as they could in the Manchester area
The jury in the trial of two men accused of plotting a gun attack on a mass gathering of Jews has retired to consider its verdicts.
Walid Saadaoui, 38, and Amar Hussein, 52, are said to have a "visceral dislike" of Jewish people and wanted to kill as many as they could in the Manchester area.
Prosecutors at Preston Crown Court say police were able to thwart their plans becoming a tragic reality as they unknowingly laid bare their scheme to an undercover operative (UCO).
Both men, it is alleged, are extremists who embraced the views of Islamic State (IS) and were prepared to risk their own lives.
Giving evidence, Saadaoui said he was not a terrorist and had wanted to sabotage any attack.
He said he had "no inkling" the IS sympathiser he thought he was in communication with was actually a UCO and claimed he was "playing a role" to appear as like-minded.
Hussein told detectives he was not part of a terror attack plan and said the evidence of the UCO was "fantasy".
Saadaoui, of Crankwood Road, Abram, Wigan, and Hussein, of no fixed address, deny preparing acts of terrorism between December 2023 and May 2024.
Saadaoui's brother, Bilel Saddaoui, 36, of Fairclough Street, Hindley, Wigan, is also on trial and denies failing to disclose information about the alleged plans.