SUBURBAN Islamic cleric Abdul Nacer Benbrika wanted to kill 1000 Australians to "please Allah" and had the support of a blond recruit who had pledged violent jihad during a meeting with Osama bin Laden.A Melbourne court heard yesterday that a witness would reveal that Shane Kent, 29, received weapons and explosives training at the Taliban-run al-Faruq training camp for foreign jihadis in Afghanistan. And at a meeting with bin Laden in that country, Mr Kent, from Meadow Heights in Melbourne's north, allegedly committed himself to violent jihad. The alleged Melbourne terror cell's spiritual leader, Mr Benbrika embraced Mr Kent as part of his clique, the court heard, saying: "He's good, and he doesn't talk too much."
| "and he's got a purdy mouth" |
Mr Benbrika encouraged his devotees to plan a large-scale terrorist attack, which police foiled during its "developmental stages", the court heard during the opening day of the committal hearing of 13 suspects yesterday. "If you kill, we kill here 1000," Mr Benbrika allegedly said in a conversation covertly taped by police. "Because if you get large numbers here, the government will listen."