CNN－4 convicted over foiled German terror plot

lemonice

March 4, 2010 -- Updated 1054 GMT (1854 HKT)

Adem Yilmez gestures during the trial in Dusseldorf, Germany.


Berlin, Germany (CNN) -- Four men were convicted in Germany on Thursday in a foiled terrorist plot against Western targets, court officials said.

The men had begun mixing a huge amount of explosive material that could have resulted in a strong blast, bigger than attacks in 2005 on London's public transport network and the 2004 Madrid railway bombings, authorities said.

Three of the men -- two Germans and a Turk -- were arrested in September 2007. The other was arrested later.

Two Germans, Fritz Gelowicz and Daniel Schneider, were sentenced to 12 years. Turkish citizen Adem Yilmaz received 11 years. Attila Selek, a German citizen of Turkish descent, received five years.

Gelowicz, Schneider and Yilmaz were convicted of, among other things, being members of a terrorist organization, court officials said.

The three were members of the Islamic Jihad Union from mid-2006 until they were arrested.

Selek received a shorter sentence because he was convicted only of supporting the organization.

Three of the men had trained at camps in northern Pakistan with a group that had ties to al Qaeda, German authorities said.