This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

Days before Christmas in 2016, Ibrahim Abbas was getting “enthusiastic” about the idea of a terrorist attack in Melbourne, a court has been told.

Abbas, 24, is giving evidence against his younger brother Hamza Abbas, 23, his cousin Abdullah Chaarani, 27, and friend Admed Mohamed, 25, who are on trial for allegedly conspiring to prepare an attack in the city.

Ibrahim Abbas told the supreme court on Thursday that he was “getting more enthusiastic, or impatient” about the idea of an attack during a conversation he had with Mohamed, captured by covert recordings on 21 December 2016.

In the recording played to court, Ibrahim Abbas and Mohamed discuss getting an explosive vest ready by Sunday, which was Christmas Day.

“That’s not to say that Sunday a terrorist attack was to occur, but I was prepared enough to maybe do an attack on Sunday,” Ibrahim Abbas said.

He told the court he wanted work to begin on a vest that day or the next and said the context of the conversation was his growing frustration. He said he believed that once he had a vest the men would be ready to decide whether to carry out an attack.

Asked if car trips north of Melbourne were for the purpose of convincing the accused men to join the plan, he said: “Not necessarily.”

He and the accused men had previously discussed how terrorist attacks had occurred, he added, but not about how an attack might go down in future.

Earlier in his evidence, Ibrahim Abbas said he had suggested Federation Square as a target during a visit to the city with Hamza Abbas, Chaarani and Mohamed on 20 December.

As they sat in the square he said he had told them: “Just picture a terrorist attack over here.”

The trial continues before Justice Christopher Beale and 14 jurors.