Three Muslim extremists convicted of conspiring to plan an Australian terrorist attack have been sentenced to each serve 18 years' jail.
The men were part of an Islamic terrorist cell who were planning to attack the Holsworthy army barracks in Sydney's south-west.
Their aim was to enter the barracks armed with military weapons and shoot 500 personnel, or as many people as possible, before they were killed or ran out of ammunition.
Wissam Mahmoud Fattal, Saney Edow Aweys and Nayef El Sayed, who had all met at the Preston Mosque, had weapons when they were arrested in August 2009.
The men were connected to the Somali-based terrorist group al-Shabaab, and tried to obtain a fatwa, or religious decree, justifying the attack.
Fattal was covertly videoed walking along the perimeter fence at the army base in what the jury, based on their verdict, believed was in preparation for an attack.
The jury found them guilty following a trial lasting more than five months in which multiple listening devices were played outlining their plan and detailing their extreme religious and political views.
They also had an expressed hatred of Australian people and non-Muslims, who they repeatedly referred to as "infidels".
