Men discussed jihad and killing the Australian PM

Reuters:

Two men arrested in Australia's biggest terror swoop discussed assassinating the prime minister, killing policemen and even attacking crowds at sports events, a court was told on Friday.

The men, one a Islamic cleric, were part of a group of 18 Muslims arrested in police raids in Melbourne and Sydney in November and charged with being members of a terrorist organisation and/or plotting a terrorist attack.

During a bail application in the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Friday, a prosecutor said the group's spiritual leader and a 20-year-old man discussed revenge attacks in Australia, Australian Associated Press (AAP) reported from the court.

The two men were refused bail.

Magistrate Reg Marron said the case against them was "not overwhelming", but the transcripts showed "disturbingly strong and reasonably assertive positions".

Prosecutor Nick Robinson said police intercepted discussions between Muslim preacher Abdul Nacer Benbrika, 45, and Abdullah Merhi, where they discussed jihad, reported AAP.

Robinson said that in the conversation Merhi asked: "For example if John Howard kills innocent Muslim families do we...do we have to kill him and his family...his people like at the football?"

Benbrika allegedly replied: "If they kill our kids we kill little kids". Merhi then said "innocent ones" and Benbrika replied "innocent ones", according to transcripts of the discussions read out in court, reported AAP.

Merhi said "We send a message back" and Benbrika replied "An eye for an eye".

Australian radio reported from the court that the prosecutor said the men also discussed killing police, and families at a football match, in revenge for the deaths of Muslim families.

Australia, a staunch U.S. ally with troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, has never suffered a major peacetime attack on home soil. The country has been on medium security alert since shortly after the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States by Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network.

In Australia's biggest counter-terrorism swoop, 18 men were arrested in November and charged with offences including acts in preparation of a terrorist attack, being a member of a terrorist group and conspiracy to commit a terrorist act.

In a Sydney court hearing in November, police said eight men arrested in the city may have been planning a bomb attack against the city's nuclear reactor.

A police document in court outlined how the men bought chemicals used in the London July 7 bombs, had bomb-making instructions in Arabic and videos entitled "Sheikh Osama's Training Course" and "Are you ready to die?"

The document also said six of the men went on "hunting and camping trips", which police described as jihad training camps, in the Australian outback in March and April 2005.

And the media wonders why so many Australians have a problem with Muslims.