London: In the first such case in the UK, two Algerians linked with al-Qaida have been found guilty of plotting to raise money for terrorist activities and jailed for 11 years each.

Sentencing 31-year old Brahim Benmerzouga and 38-year old Baghdad Meziane in the Leicester Crown Court on April 1, Justice Curtis said, "You have not directly taken life or seriously injured anyone. But the terrorists, in order to carry out their terrible killings and maimings, need money, false papers and military-style materials."

"You both provided terrorists with the vital support and ran a well-organised and secretive cell."

The two men, who were living in Leicester, about 100 km from London, worked together in a factory in Corby and used numerous false identities between them.

They were secretly part of an intricate network of terror cells across Europe which exchanged coded Internet messages.

The pair, part of an international credit card fraud aimed at raising funds for terror organisations such as al-Qaida, collected the names and credit card details of almost 200 different bank accounts on computer discs and envelopes found littered around their homes and cars.

PTI