MEMBERS of a gang accused of terrorist training practised techniques used by al Qaida insurgents, a military expert said.

The British Army officer said the men held sticks as "makeshift rifles" in the same way as fighters he faced in Iraq.

He was referring to footage recorded on a mobile phone of the men undertaking a series of exercises in the New Forest.

Woolwich Crown Court was told today (Friday, October 26) that the series of short clips were recovered from a computer owned by one of the five men on trial.

The officer, referred to in court as soldier A, described how the activities were similar in some ways to basic Army training.

He described the participants leopard crawling, conducting forward rolls, wrestling and jumping across streams.

He commented on one drill in which men bounced on their knees between two positions while holding a large stick in front of them.

He said: "I have seen that used as a method of carrying a weapon system. It is not something that is taught by the British Army.

"I have seen it used by insurgents while in Iraq and the Taliban in Afghanistan. It is a favoured position of insurgents and Taliban."

Prosecutor David Farrell QC then asked the expert witness: "With what type of weapon?" The witness replied: "An AK-47."

Five men are on trial accused of various roles in a plot to conduct terrorist training camps across the UK.

The court heard how the men travelled to the New Forest on April 28, 2006, for a four-day camp.

It was one of a series of trips including paintballing, camping in the Lake District and visits to an Islamic centre in East Sussex.

Soldier A served as an infantry platoon commander on three active tours and now works as a British Army instructor.

Silent footage from a motion-sensitive camera hidden by police in the woods was also shown to soldier A.

The footage revealed a group of men undertaking exercises in a forest clearing including crawling, crouching and running.

Soldier A said the group practised a "fireman's lift" which could be used to evacuate wounded soldiers from a battlefield.

All five men deny a range of terrorist charges.

Earlier, the court heard evidence from an undercover police officer who infiltrated the group claiming he wanted to convert to Islam.

The officer attended a number of meetings at defendant Mohammed Hamid's home in Clapton, east London, and eventually a number of the alleged training camps.

He said Hamid's friend, Kibley Da Costa, admitted the group were "extreme" during a car journey after a meeting the week before the New Forest camp.

He told the court: "He was talking about the meeting. He said to take everything gradual'. He said the group were extreme, but it was the right way to be."

The meeting itself was recorded on a bugging device hidden in Hamid's home by police in September 2005.

In one conversation played to the court, Hamid tells a group of young men that they must be trained.

He said: "Remember this, Allah has turned around and said every Muslim should be fully trained.

"He should be able to take on two kuffar (non-believers), right, he should be ready for Jihad."

A detective identified Da Costa in the mobile phone video, dressed in black and leading the alleged rifle training. He also pointed out Kader Ahmed to the jury as he took part in the drills.

The trial was adjourned until Monday at 10.30am.