An alleged Islamic hate preacher reported to have been the terror mastermind who recruited the Austrian jihad 'poster girls' and more than 160 others was travelling Europe 'like a popstar on tour', a court heard.

Mirsad Omerovic, 34, known by the Islamic name of 'Ebu Tejma', was arrested in November last year at the council flat he shared with his pregnant wife and five children.

Authorities believe Omerovic, originally from Bosnia now on trial in Austria's southern city of Graz, recruited Samra Kesinovic, 17 and Sabina Selimovic, 16, who became the public face of jihad.

He was also involved in a further 166 defections of European youngsters to fight in holy war.

Tejma's 'main message was that Islam needed to be spread to the world through jihad,' a prosecutor said. He added that Ebu Tejma was travelling through Europe 'like a popstar on tour'.

Poster girls: Samra Kesinovic, 17, (left) and Sabina Selimovic, 16, (right) became radicalised through the cell led by Ebu Tejma

A picture believed to show Sabina Selimovic, 15, with jihadi fighters in Syria. A United Nations official revealed the girl may had died fighting in Syria

Omerovic flat was stuffed with jewellery, cash and savings books worth a fortune when it was stormed by Austria's elite heavily-armed police special forces team WEGA. He had also been spotted driving top-of-the-range sport cars.

Opening his trial in Austria, the prosecutor told the court that Omerovic's 'main message was that Islam needed to be spread to the world through jihad.'

He added that Ebu Tejma was travelling through Europe 'like a popstar on tour'.

And he added that the popstar analogy was particularly appropriate because Omerovic even had his own YouTube channel aimed at young Muslims aged between 14 and their late twenties.

He added it offered 'to carry out brainwashing on those that viewed it'.

The two Austrian teens became the terror organisation's latest PR coup when they turned out to be poster girls for the death cult, and featured on ISIS websites carrying AK-47s and surrounded by groups of armed men.

Neither however has been seen for almost a year, with a Tunisian ISIS returnee telling investigators that Samra had been forced to become a sex slave who was offered as a present to new fighters, and that she was later stoned to death when she tried to escape.

With regards to Sabina, a United Nations official revealed a girl 'of Bosnian origin from Austria' - believed to be Sabina - had died fighting in Syria.

Both had allegedly become radicalised by Omerovic. When they had left their homes, they left a note for their families which read: 'Don't look for us. We will serve Allah and we will die for him.'

Authorities believe Omerovic, originally from Bosnia now on trial in Austria's southern city of Graz, recruited Samra Kesinovic, 17 and Sabina Selimovic, 16, who became the public face of jihad

As well as the two girls, Omerovic has also been linked in with the recruitment of more than 160 others who eventually joined ISIS.

The valuables that were seized at his home had all been provided by Muslims radicalised by the preacher and his cronies in a network that reportedly extended across the country and into the rest of Europe.

The prosecutor also claimed that on his computer a file that was a guide to making an explosive device was found. It was a guidebook to making an explosive device that could be detonated by mobile phone.

His arrest has been seen as a major blow against the terrorist group's activities and now the trial under judge Stephan Mertens is taking place in part behind closed doors to protect the identity of witnesses.

It is the first time a Muslim has been charged with murder through terrorism in Austria and he is also accused of inciting a co-accused in the murder of 'infidels' which could result in up to 20 years in prison.

As well as the two girls, Omerovic has also been linked in with the recruitment of more than 160 others who eventually joined ISIS

Austria has been concerned for years over fears that the country was becoming a hub for terrorist activities after inviting thousands of Muslim refugees into the country during the breakup of the former Yugoslavia

The co-accused is a 28-year-old Russian who was targeted by police because of his violence as the right-hand man of Omerovic.

He is accused of carrying out numerous murders of civilians in Syria as well as the shooting of sex slaves and forcing others out of their homes.

Security service insiders claim that he was not only one of 200 leading jihadists, but was also one of the leaders of the so called 'Bosnian cell' based in the Meidling district of Vienna that it was 'one of the most important logistic and financial support centres for jihadist activities in Europe', according to the 'Vecernje novosti', a local newspaper in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Austria has been concerned for years over fears that the country was becoming a hub for terrorist activities after inviting thousands of Muslim refugees into the country during the breakup of the former Yugoslavia.

It meant Vienna provided a fertile breeding ground for Omerovic and his network. The Austrian newspaper the Krone claimed that 'there was scarcely a single recruit in Europe for Jihad in which he and his group were not involved'. In preparing the case, the prosecutor also asked German Islam expert Guido Steinberg to analyse YouTube videos that Omerovic had made.

Originally from the small Serbian town of Tutin, Tejma was known in Bosnia and Herzegovina as a preacher of hatred and intolerance, who very soon found himself allied with the extreme form of Islam known as Wahhabism – an ultra-conservative, Saudi brand of Salafism.

According to Austrian anti-terrorism authorities, Tejma appeared on their radar more than three years ago, when he began uploading videos onto his YouTube channel.

His arrest followed two years of investigation by intelligence officials that had been tapping his communications, monitoring his phone calls and building up a picture of his network - which then prompted the arrests on November 28.

One of those connections is allegedly a direct line to the caliph of ISIS terrorism, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

Tejma appeared on their radar more than three years ago, when he began uploading videos onto his YouTube channel

The two girls in their new life in a pic posted online. They attended sermons given by Tejma

Investigators saw a constant stream of Salafist Muslims during their operation on Tejma.

Salafism is the fastest-growing Islamic movement in the world. It is rooted in the 19th century where it emerged as a way of combating the spread of European ideas and values.

But in recent years, it has come to be associated with the jihad of extremist groups that advocate the killing of innocent civilians. Lawyers for Omerovic told the court that he would claim to have done nothing more than teaching Islam as he had been trained to do so in Saudi Arabia.

Security services recorded a constant stream of Salafist preachers, often accompanied by Mujahedin fighters travelling up from Bosnia and Herzegovina, to the mosque and the imam has been appearing in online videos revealing that it is every Muslim's duty to join jihad if an Islamic state is under attack from non-believers.