Islamic State supporter 'hero-worshipped' mastermind of 2015 Paris attacks, court told

An Islamic State supporter was said to have "hero-worshipped" the mastermind of the 2015 Paris attacks, a court has heard.

Walid Saadaoui, 38, of Abram, Greater Manchester, is accused along with Amar Hussein, 52, of preparing a terrorist attack by making plans for an attack, conducting reconnaissance and arranging the purchase and delivery of firearms. Preston Crown Court heard how he paid thousands of pounds to buy six firearms for a terrorist cell planning to attack Jewish people in Manchester.

Saadaoui was arrested by undercover police in a car park in Bolton on 8 May last year as he took delivery of the weapons. The court was told that on 18 January 2023, Saadaoui had posted praise on Facebook of Abdelhamid Abaaoud - an Islamic State terrorist behind the 2015 Paris attacks.

2015 Paris attacks a 'source of inspiration' Harpreet Sandhu KC, prosecuting, said the terrorist was a "source of inspiration" for Saadaoui. He added: "The sort of firearms Walid Saadaoui had arranged to have smuggled into the UK were the sort of weapons which had been used to kill 130 people and injure hundreds more in Paris.

"He wanted to replicate what Abaaoud had done. Walid Saadaoui hero-worshipped that terrorist." The court heard that Saadaoui was contacted on Facebook by an undercover officer called Farouk - using the name Abu Bilal - in December that year At that time, Saadaoui was said to be using an image of Abaaoud as a profile picture.

The undercover officer asked him: "Peace and blessing of god, how did you get to know the martyr brother Abdul Hamid?" Saadaoui later told Farouk: "I can use a knife in the operation, but this will not be enough to take revenge, only the automatic gun. I want to kill as many as possible." Read more from Sky News:How two years of war have shattered the Gaza StripCould Trump win the Nobel Peace Prize tomorrow? Mr Sandhu told the court that in January 2024, Farouk sent a video to Saadaoui showing a Kalashnikov being loaded and then unloaded.

In later messages to the undercover officer, Saadaoui said: "I have two others with me... One of them is a brother who said that he doesn't wish to continue to live." Saadaoui and Hussein face trial alongside Saadaoui's younger brother, Bilel, 36, of Hindley near Wigan.

The younger brother is charged with failure to disclose information about an act of terrorism. All three defendants deny the allegations.

Before the trial started, the judge told the jury that the background of the case was "coincidental" to last week's attack at the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in Crumpsall, Manchester. He said: "You must try them fairly without reference or thought to what happened there." The trial continues..