Australian man found guilty of hiring jihadis for IS

An Australian man was found guilty on Tuesday of recruiting seven jihadis in 2013 to fight for the Islamic State (IS) terror group in Syria.

Sydney resident Hamdi Al Qudsi, 42, could face a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, ABC News reported.

Al Qudsi, who is of Palestinian origin, was arrested in August 2015 for working with Mohammad Ali Baryalei, a well-known IS member, to recruit jihadis to fight in Syria.

The police intercepted several Skype and WhatsApp messages between Al Qudsi and Baryalei through which they were organising the trips for the new hires.

Of the seven people recruited, two died in the war, two returned to Australia, one never got out of the country and the whereabouts of the remaining two are unknown.

Baryalei travelled to Syria in April 2013 and Australian authorities believe he died fighting in October 2014, Efe news reported.

Al Qudsi's defence argued that his intentions were not to recruit jihadis to fight in Syria but send volunteers for humanitarian work.

However, the Supreme Court of the state of New South Wales is yet to pronounce his sentence.

--IANS

ksk/vt