New CCTV Footage Reveals Terror Plot Against UK Defence Academy Before Synagogue Attack

Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation by David Dixon, Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 | Jihad Watch

Newly released CCTV footage has revealed how Mohammad Bashir and Jihad Al-Shamie allegedly planned a terrorist attack on the UK Defence Academy in Shrivenham, Wiltshire, months before Al-Shamie carried out the deadly attack on the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue.

One of the most significant pieces of evidence presented in court was an audio recording captured by CCTV inside a mosque in Manchester, where Bashir was heard telling Al-Shamie, "This time next year, we're going green bird." Prosecutors argued that the phrase referred to martyrdom, a concept in which the souls of martyrs are believed to be "placed into green birds."

The conversation later became central to a major counter-terrorism investigation that exposed plans to target the UK Defence Academy and ultimately resulted in Bashir receiving a life sentence.

On July 23, Mohammad Bashir, 31, from Shaftesbury Road in Cheetham Hill, was sentenced to life imprisonment at Manchester Crown Court after pleading guilty to preparing acts of terrorism. The court ordered that he serve a minimum of 17 years, reduced to 16 years and 135 days to account for time already spent in custody.

The investigation began after Jihad Al-Shamie launched the fatal attack on the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in October 2025. Although Bashir had been closely associated with Al-Shamie in the weeks leading up to the incident, counter-terrorism investigators stated that they found no evidence indicating Bashir had prior knowledge of the synagogue attack.

Instead, authorities concluded that the two men had been jointly planning a separate terrorist operation targeting the UK Defence Academy in Wiltshire.

According to investigators, Bashir and Al-Shamie first met at the Al Sunnah Mosque in Cheetham Hill in 2023, where they gradually developed a close relationship. Over time, investigators said, their extremist beliefs became increasingly apparent through encrypted messages, social media activity, internet searches, and conversations recorded by the mosque's CCTV system.

The pair reportedly held discussions in isolated sections of the mosque, believing they were beyond the reach of surveillance. However, the CCTV system recorded both video and audio, providing investigators with crucial evidence.

In one recorded conversation presented before the court, Al-Shamie said, "I wish we had a weapon. We need to get one. Crossbow. Is there a way for us to go in?" Bashir responded, "You got me really excited."

During the same exchange, Al-Shamie suggested that the planned operation would likely be a suicide mission, saying, "Once we go there, we're not coming back. Once we go to the mission. Prepare to say bye to loved ones, any last debts we could pay off or any fines."

In another recording, Bashir repeated the phrase, "This time next year, we're going green bird," which counter-terrorism officers testified was consistent with references to martyrdom used in extremist ideology.

(This Article was originally published by Jihad Watch)