How an undercover cop foiled an IS plot to massacre Britain’s Jews – podcast

The Guardian World

by Presented by Helen Pidd with Chris Osuh; produced by Ivor Manley and Brian McNamara; executive producer Sami Kent

February 16, 2026

The Guardian’s community affairs correspondent, Chris Osuh, reports on the plot by two IS terrorists to massacre Jews in Manchester, and how it was thwarted by an undercover sting Walid Saadaoui had once worked as a holiday entertainer, organising dance shows and quizzes at a resort in his native Tunisia. After moving to the UK and marrying a British woman, he became a restaurateur and an avid keeper of birds. All the while, however – as the Guardian’s community affairs correspondent, Chris Osuh, explains – he was hiding a secret: he had pledged allegiance to Islamic State. Continue reading...

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Originally published on The Guardian World on 2/16/2026