This is the story of Farouk, an undercover operative who foiled what police said could have been "one of the deadliest terrorist attacks in UK history".
Walid Saadaoui, 38, and Amar Hussein, 52, had a “visceral dislike” of Jewish people and wanted to kill as many as they could in their Islamic State-inspired gun attack in Greater Manchester.
Their plan was to target a community gathering before moving on to a British military base for a "last stand" where they sought a gunfight "to the death".
But the duo were brought down after an undercover operative posed as one of them to gain their trust, tracking their every move for six months before armed officers swooped in to arrest them.
"This is one of the biggest covert plots disruptions in the UK for a number of years," Assistant Chief Constable Rob Potts, from Counter Terrorism Policing North West said.
"The number of individuals that were involved in this operation, and the potential consequences had the subjects been allowed to carry out their plan, are pretty unthinkable – catastrophic."
He added: "With that level of weaponry and ammunition it could have been one of the deadliest terrorist attacks in UK history."
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