THREE Muslims, one of them from Kent, who were linked to Al Qaeda and used the internet to incite terrorist attacks have been jailed for a total of 24 years.

Waseem Mughal, 24, of Railway Street, Chatham, Younis Tsouli, 23, and Tariq Al-Daour, 21, are the first to be prosecuted for online distribution of extremist material.

They helped set up websites and chat forums to share jihadi propaganda and encourage other computer users to fight against non-Muslims.

Mr Justice Peter Openshaw sentenced Tsouli - who used the name 'Terrorist007' - to 10 years in jail and recommended his deportation at the end of his sentence.

Mughal was jailed for seven-and-a-half years for the same charge of incitement of an act of terrorism, and Al-Daour for six and a half years.

All three were given concurrent prison terms of three-and-a-half years for conspiracy to defraud.

Tsouli, of Richmond Way, Shepherd's Bush, Al-Daour, of Queens Court, Queensway, Bayswater, Paddington, west London, and Mughal, have all pleaded guilty to incitement to commit an act of terrorism amounting to murder and conspiracy to defraud.

The other charges on the indictment, including conspiracy to murder and possessing a document or record likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism will be left on file.

DAC Peter Clarke, head of the Met's Counter Terrorism Command, said: "These three men, by their own admission, were encouraging others to beome terrorists and murder innocent people.

"This is the first successful prosecution for inciting murder using the internet, showing yet again that terrorist networks are spanning the globe.

"Tsouli, Mughal and al-Daour used stolen identities, false credit card details and hidden chat room forums. Their terrorist tradecraft was sophisticated, but nevertheless defeated by this investigation.

"Detectives were faced with an enormous challenge - to decode and decipher a staggering quantity of computer data and websites. They should be justly proud of their efforts in this case."

A spokesman for Kent Police: "This is the culmination of a long investigation by the Metropolitan Police Counter Terrorism branch, with assistance from Kent Police Special Branch and other forces."

Ch Insp Roy Cottam, who headed up the Kent investigation team, said: "Officers undertook a number of searches and made a significant arrest of one of the main suspects.

"Specially trained officers were used to search and forensically examine the premises in Chatham for a period of about 48 hours. Thanks to the dedication and hard work of officers we have helped to remove someone who posed a real security threat from the streets."

Kent Police are reminding anyone concerned about suspicious behaviour or individuals to contact the Anti-terrorist Hotline on 0800 789 321.