Bashir departed the UK two days following the synagogue assault and was apprehended at Manchester Airport in November 2025 upon returning from a family wedding in Pakistan.

A man has received a life sentence for conspiring with an associate to execute a terrorist attack on a British military academy; the same associate later committed a fatal stabbing at a synagogue.

ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT

Mohammad Bashir, aged 31, admitted guilt at Manchester Crown Court to preparing an act of terrorism and is required to serve at least 17 years before parole eligibility.

He was not directly involved in the Yom Kippur synagogue attack last October, but investigations into the stabbing revealed plans by him and the attacker for a similar operation targeting the UK’s Defence Academy, which they mistakenly believed trained Israeli personnel.

“Mohammad Bashir is a committed jihadist and poses a serious threat, having devised a plot that could have resulted in severe destruction,” stated the Crown Prosecution Service.

“His conduct reflects a purposeful and prolonged dedication to violent extremism.”

Two months before his friend Jihad Al-Shamie executed the synagogue attack, Bashir transported him from Manchester to the Defence Academy in Shrivenham, Oxfordshire, to observe the location. They discussed entry methods, weapon choices, and the use of a mock suicide vest during the planned assault.

“It is clear you both anticipated martyrdom and aimed to kill others,” Justice Bobbie Cheema-Grubb told Bashir at sentencing.

“This was a feasible plan to assault the Defence Academy similarly to Al-Shamie’s attack on the synagogue, employing handheld weapons and a dummy suicide vest to inflict maximum casualties.”

The planned attack was never executed, and prosecutors found no evidence tying Bashir to the synagogue stabbing.

Greater Manchester Police stated Thursday that messages between the two men were recovered from phones seized from Al-Shamie after earlier arrests in 2025.

The police apologized for not reviewing the evidence prior to the synagogue attack and confirmed the Independent Office for Police Conduct will investigate whether the overlooked messages might have helped prevent it.

“It is evident that failing to examine the available data before the attack represents a missed chance,” said Stephen Watson, Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police.

“I regret the additional pain this causes to everyone affected by the tragic events last October. For this, I offer my sincere apologies.”