Australia cleric gets jail term

A Muslim cleric has been given a 15-year jail sentence in Australia for plotting to attack sporting events.

Abdul Nacer Benbrika and six others were found guilty in September of planning the attacks, which were never carried out.

Then-Prime Minister John Howard was also among the targets for "violent jihad", a court in Melbourne heard.

Judge Bernard Bongiorno ruled that Benbrika would not be eligible for parole for at least 12 years.

"The organisation fostered and encouraged its members to engage in violent jihad and to perform a terrorist act," Judge Bongiorno told Victoria's Supreme Court.

The trial of Algerian-born Benbrika and his followers lasted more than six months.

Prosecutors had argued that the aim of the plot was to force the Australian government to pull its troops out of Iraq.