5 Found Guilty of Australian Terror Plot

Five men were convicted Friday for plotting a terrorist attack in Australia by stockpiling bomb-making instructions and purchasing explosives.

A jury in the trial deliberated for a month before finding the men guilty of conspiring to commit and prepare for a terrorist act. Each faces a maximum sentence of life.

The men, aged between 25 and 44, were arrested in a series of raids on their homes in 2005.

Prosecutors had said the men were trying to punish Australia for sending troops to fight in Iraq and Afghanistan. Four others were earlier convicted over the plot hatched between July 2004 and November 2005.

Terrorist attacks are rare on Australian soil, but dozens of Australians have been killed in bombing attacks overseas since 2002, mainly in Indonesia.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP and AP.