Mohammad Bashir jailed for life for plotting attack on UK military base

Mohammad Bashir jailed for life for plotting attack on UK military base

Mohammad Bashir has been sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 17 years after pleading guilty to preparing an act of terrorism. The 31-year-old, who holds both British and Pakistani passports, plotted an attack on a British military target alongside Jihad Al-Shamie, the man responsible for the attack on Heaton Park Synagogue.

Details emerged at Manchester Crown Court that Bashir and Al-Shamie were equally engaged in planning a strike on the UK's Defence Academy in Shrivenham, Oxfordshire. During sentencing, Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb stated that by August last year, Bashir had become a firmly committed jihadist. The judge rejected claims made by Bashir to a probation officer that he regretted his actions or had abandoned extremist views, concluding that he remains dangerous.

On 14 August 2025, Bashir drove Al-Shamie on a 10-hour round trip to the Oxfordshire base, which provides training for foreign students and personnel from the Civil Service and British military. The pair remained at the site for 13 minutes while Al-Shamie used his phone to record notes on security arrangements under the heading espionage. The prosecution stated the intended attack involved weapons that would cause multiple fatalities and result in national and international impact.

Evidence of the conspiracy was recovered from cloud data after the men disposed of their phones following the reconnaissance trip. Police discovered Al-Shamie had searched for potential target sites, weapons, and individuals linked to the Israeli military. CCTV footage from 9 August on CCTV at the Al Sunnah Mosque in Manchester, where they mistakenly believed they had hidden from the cameras and that their conversations would not be overheard. (Correction: This sentence was modified from source but the source says "The men were spotted on 9 August on CCTV at the Al Sunnah Mosque in Manchester, where they mistakenly believed they had hidden from the cameras and that their conversations would not be overheard.") -> *Wait, I must keep verbatim. Let me re-evaluate.*

Evidence of the conspiracy was recovered from cloud data after the men disposed of their phones following the reconnaissance trip. Police discovered Al-Shamie had searched for potential target sites, weapons, and individuals linked to the Israeli military. The men were spotted on 9 August on CCTV at the Al Sunnah Mosque in Manchester, where they mistakenly believed they had hidden from the cameras and that their conversations would not be overheard.

The plot preceded a violent attack on 2 October 2025. Al-Shamie, 35, drove a Kia Picanto into the gates of Heaton Park Synagogue in Crumpsall during Yom Kippur. Using a knife and wearing a fake suicide belt, he killed two Jewish men, Melvin Cravitz and Adrian Daulby, before being shot dead by police. While Bashir and Al-Shamie shared extremist views and discussed preparing for war in WhatsApp chats filled with antisemitic remarks, Assistant Chief Constable Rob Potts stated there was no evidence Bashir knew of the specific plan to attack the synagogue.

Following the October attack, Bashir traveled to Pakistan but was arrested by authorities upon his return to Manchester Airport.

The case has prompted a public apology from Greater Manchester Police (GMP) regarding a missed opportunity to prevent the synagogue massacre. Sir Stephen Watson, Chief Constable of GMP, admitted that police had seized Al-Shamie's mobile devices twice in 2025—once on 13 February for an alleged breach of a non-molestation order and again on 21 September on suspicion of rape—but failed to examine them.

Sir Stephen confirmed that the data on those devices contained substantial evidence of an extremist mindset and that the failure to review the phones was a regrettable oversight. Al-Shamie had been on bail for the alleged rape at the time of the October 2 attack.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) is now investigating all previous contact between GMP and Al-Shamie. This probe includes the actions taken by police in response to reports of crimes he committed. One officer is currently under investigation by the IOPC for potential misconduct regarding the handling of sexual offense allegations against Al-Shamie.

As Bashir begins his sentence, the IOPC continues to review whether GMP missed further opportunities to prevent the attack, having been made aware of the recovered device data last week.