Manchester synagogue attacker's associate planned Ministry of Defence terror attack, court hears

A "committed jihadist" planned a terror attack on a defence base with the man who later committed a fatal knife rampage at a Manchester synagogue, a court has heard.

Mohammed Bashir, 31, drove Jihad Al-Shamie, 35, on a 10-hour round trip less than two months before the 35-year-old was shot dead by police during his attack.

The 14 August road-trip was undertaken to conduct hostile reconnaissance at the UK Defence Academy in Shrivenham, near Swindon.

Both men later deliberately disposed of their phones.

Communications between the men were discovered after Al-Shamie was shot dead by police on 2 October while carrying out his terrorist attack at the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation synagogue.

Two worshippers were killed after Al-Shamie, a Syrian-born UK citizen, drove his Kia Picanto into the gates of the synagogue and began attacking with a knife.

WhatsApp messages and voice note exchanges between the pair were uncovered when police analysed two phones seized from Al-Shamie when he was arrested over a previous offence.

He had been arrested in February 2025 over an alleged breach of a non-molestation order and in September 2025 when he was held on suspicion of rape, Manchester Crown Court heard during a sentencing hearing.

Last month, Bashir, of Cheetham, north Manchester, pleaded guilty to the preparation of terrorist acts.

Manchester-born Bashir, who also holds a Pakistani passport, has no previous convictions.

He was arrested at Manchester Airport on 27 November but was not charged in relation to the synagogue attack.

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Prosecutor Jonathan Polnay KC said: "The prosecution case is that Mohammad Bashir is a long-standing, committed jihadist.

"The attack that was being planned was of the sort that Jihad Al-Shamie in fact carried out on October 2, an attack involving weapons that would cause multiple fatalities and have national and international impact."

"They were both interested in, and regularly discussed, violent jihad," he added.

MoD Shrivenham is the home of the UK Defence Academy, the court heard.

The academy provides professional defence and security education to the British Armed Forces, wider UK government, UK industry and overseas personnel.

Routinely, there will be up to 4,000 staff, contractors, students and visitors on site at any given time.

The Crown said there was no evidence to suggest Bashir was involved in the planning of the attack at Heaton Park.

The two-day sentencing hearing continues.

(c) Sky News 2026: Manchester synagogue attacker's associate planned Ministry of Defence terror attack, court hear