Five go on trial in Australian terror bomb plot

Five muslims accused of plotting a terrorist attack in Australia stored bomb-making instructions and bought explosive chemicals as part of their plan, a court heard today.

Prosecutor Richard Maidment said the suspects saw Australia’s military presence in Afghanistan and Iraq as an act of aggression against muslims. The men, whom prosecutors have said were devotees of a radical cleric sympathetic to al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, have pleaded not guilty.