Manchester terrorist called 999 during synagogue attack and pledged allegiance to Isis

He told the operator on the line: "I have killed two Jews in the name of the Islamic State."

Adrian Daulby and Melvin Cravitz died during the car-ramming and knife attack, in which four other people were injured.

Mr Daulby, 53, suffered a fatal gunshot wound as armed police opened fire to neutralise Al-Shamie and prevent further bloodshed.

Mr Cravitz, 66, was outside and had been trying to prevent Al-Shamie getting any further when he was murdered on Yom Kippur.

A spokesman for Counter Terrorism Policing North West said: "We can confirm that, in the initial stages of the attack outside the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue, a call was made by the attacker to police, claiming to pledge allegiance to the so-called Islamic State.

"We are continuing to investigate the full circumstances and motivation behind what happened. The investigation is continuing at pace."

Eyewitnesses heard Al-Shamie shout "this is what you’re going to get for killing our children" as he tried to gain access to the synagogue.

According to an ex-partner, the terrorist sent abusive messages, pushed her to watch "extreme" videos and married a British NHS nurse who converted to Islam before the relationship with his wife ended.

The Syrian-born attacker married the Briton in a secret Islamic wedding behind his wife's back, which ultimately led to the downfall of his marriage.

The Islamist's former neighbours claimed he would swan around wearing flip-flops and pyjamas, and routinely irritated locals by poorly parking his car.

Friends of Al-Shamie have previously said he was radicalised after watching Islamic State videos online.

One neighbour told the BBC her concerns had related to men "coming and going" from the address and she had been "really worried" about a relative of Al-Shamie's in particular.

They said: "My partner and I were really worried. [The relative] stopped speaking to us, talking less and less and spending all his time praying.

"He wouldn't even make eye contact with me."

The synagogue’s chairman of trustees, Alan Levy, who helped barricade the doors, told ITV News he saw Al-Shamie "with a big knife, banging his knife into the glass, trying to get through."

He added: "The heroes of the congregation who saw what was happening then came to the doors because he was trying to break the doors down to get in.

"We were barricading the doors between us with Rabbi Walker and a number of the other congregants. He couldn’t get in because we were holding the doors firm.”

Mr Levy added: "All I heard him say was when the guys were outside the perimeter and were shouting at him. He shouted, 'this is what you get for killing our children.'"

Al-Shamie's increasingly extreme views became apparent to those around him.

One friend, identified only as Asim told Sky News that Al-Shamie's ideology had become "a bit too radical for me," leading him to distance himself from their friendship.

Asim, who befriended him through their mutual interest in computers, observed significant changes in his behaviour.

"He started asking me for money, not small amounts, but thousands," Asim said. "When I refused, he became angry. I'd never seen that side of him before."