A court in the west German city of Dusseldorf on Tuesday convicted five men of being members of the Islamic State terrorist group.

The men were handed sentences of up to nine and a half years in prison.

According to the judges, the Islamists, between 25 and 34 years old, belonged to a terrorist cell which was planning to carry out attacks in Germany on the instructions of Islamic State leaders.

Two years ago the men wanted to murder a critic of Islam, but police prevented the attack, the court said.

Before their arrest, the five Tajiks lived in different cities in the North Rhine Westphalia state.

One member of the cell was sentenced to seven years in prison in 2021. (dpa/NAN)