UK synagogue terrorist planned attack on IDF soldiers

Manchester synagogue terrorist previously planned attacks on Israeli soldiers studying at a British military academy. By World Israel News Staff The Islamist terrorist who carried out the deadly 2025 attack on a Manchester synagogue had previously plotted a separate assault on a British military academy where he believed Israeli soldiers were being trained, prosecutors have revealed. Jihad Al-Shamie and his associate, Mohammad Asim Bashir, discussed weapons, martyrdom and possible targets before conducting reconnaissance at the UK Defence Academy in Shrivenham, near Swindon, Manchester Crown Court heard Wednesday. The academy provides military and security education to members of the British Armed Forces, government officials, defense-industry personnel and representatives of foreign militaries. As many as 4,000 employees, contractors, students and visitors can be present at the site. Prosecutors said Al-Shamie had repeatedly searched online for information about IDF soldiers training in Britain and that the men’s selection of the academy was motivated in part by their antisemitic beliefs. Bashir, 31, pleaded guilty in June to preparing acts of terrorism by driving Al-Shamie to the academy for what authorities described as hostile reconnaissance. He was due to be sentenced Thursday. Prosecutor Jonathan Polnay KC described Bashir as a “long-standing, committed jihadist” and said both men regularly discussed violent jihad. “The attack that was being planned was of the sort that Jihad Al-Shamie in fact carried out on October 2,” Polnay told the court, describing a planned assault intended to inflict multiple deaths and generate international attention. Investigators reconstructed the plot after examining phones previously seized from Al-Shamie and recovering WhatsApp messages, voice notes, internet searches and surveillance footage. Cameras recorded the two men speaking at the Al-Sunnah Mosque in Manchester in August 2025, where they apparently believed they could not be overheard. “I wish we had a weapon. We need to get one. Crossbow,” Al-Shamie said during one conversation. “You got me really excited,” Bashir responded. The men also spoke about a mission from which they did not expect to return and discussed saying goodbye to relatives and settling debts. Bashir referred to their anticipated deaths using imagery that a terrorism expert told the court was associated with Islamic concepts of martyrdom. Six days later, on August 14, Bashir drove Al-Shamie on a roughly 10-hour round trip to the Defence Academy. Al-Shamie’s car stopped at the site for approximately 15 minutes. During the reconnaissance, Al-Shamie created a note on his phone titled “Espionage” that described the academy’s reception area, staff positions, adjoining rooms and a door leading to a search bay. “This is plainly a description of the reception area of the Defence Academy,” Polnay said. After returning to Manchester, the pair deliberately disposed of their mobile phones, according to prosecutors. Al-Shamie later searched online for terms including the academy, British military uniforms and a costume suicide vest. Authorities have not disclosed evidence that Israeli soldiers were actually stationed at the academy when the men visited. Prosecutors said Al-Shamie nevertheless appeared to believe IDF personnel were training there. By late August, Al-Shamie’s attention had apparently shifted from the military academy to the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in Manchester. His subsequent internet activity included searches concerning the synagogue, local rabbis, meat cleavers and bags capable of carrying them. On September 22, he searched for material connecting Yom Kippur with a massacre, the court heard. On October 2, 2025, Yom Kippur, Al-Shamie drove his Kia Picanto at people outside the synagogue before crashing into its gates and attacking worshippers with a knife. He wore a fake explosive vest during the assault. Melvin Cravitz, 66, was stabbed to death. Adrian Daulby, 53, was accidentally killed by police gunfire as armed officers confronted Al-Shamie. Three other men were seriously injured. Al-Shamie called Britain’s emergency telephone service during the attack, claimed responsibility and pledged allegiance to Islamic State. Police shot and killed him before he could enter the synagogue, where a large number of worshippers had gathered for Yom Kippur services. Counterterrorism investigators later identified Bashir as one of Al-Shamie’s close associates. Bashir was arrested at Manchester Airport on November 27 after arriving on an international flight. Police said Bashir was not charged with helping to plan or carry out the synagogue attack, and prosecutors told the court there was no evidence that he participated in preparations for that assault. His conviction instead concerns the earlier plot against the Defence Academy. Bashir, a Manchester-born British national who also holds a Pakistani passport, had no previous criminal convictions. Assistant Chief Constable Rob Potts said the military reconnaissance demonstrated the seriousness of Bashir’s conduct, even though it was not directly connected to the later synagogue killings. “The fact he conducted hostile reconnaissance alongside a man who would later commit a terrorist attack show the seriousness of his actions,” Potts said. 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