Lebanese brothers jailed for 76 years over Etihad bomb plot

Australian brothers Khaled and Mahmoud Khayat sent their unwitting brother to blow up the Sydney to Abu Dhabi flight

An Australian court heard how the men sent their brother on the flight, unaware he was carrying an explosive device in a meat grinder. Courtesy: Etihad Airways 

Two brothers have been handed lengthy jail terms for plotting to bring down an Etihad Airways flight to Abu Dhabi from Sydney with a bomb hidden in a meat grinder on a third brother they said had brought disgrace on their family.

The Australian-Lebanese brothers, Khaled and Mahmoud Khayat, 51 and 34, were convicted in Australia of terrorism offences for trying to bomb a passenger jet in July 2017 under instructions from ISIS.

Khaled was sentenced to 40 years with a minimum of 30 years without parole, while Mahmoud received 36 years' jail time and ordered to serve at least 27.

The improvised device was to be smuggled inside the luggage of a third, unwitting brother, who prosecutors said was not aware of the plot.

A fourth brother, who is said to have fought with ISIS in Syria, is accused of directing the plot from overseas.

The plotters disapproved of their brother "because he drank, went clubbing, gambled and was gay, which they regarded as bringing shame on the family", judge Christine Adamson noted.

The plan was aborted at the airport when the plotters decided it was too risky to get through customs after airline staff said their bags were overweight.

After a baggage attendant told them to rearrange Amer's luggage, Khaled removed the bomb due to fears of it being detected.

Police said the explosives used to make the bomb had been sent by air from Turkey as part of a plot "inspired and directed" by ISIS.

In handing down her sentence, Ms Adamson said despite no one being killed, the offenders had succeeded in "creating terror" because the public was made aware of the plot.

"The conspiracy to which both offenders were parties plainly envisaged that a large number of people would be killed," she said.

After it failed, the brothers also planned to carry out a chemical gas attack in Sydney, prosecutors said. They were arrested 11 days after the airport incident.

The brothers maintain their innocence. They migrated and settled in Australia and appeared to have integrated into the community.