Militant camp was 'like bungee'

Waheed Ali, Sadeer Saleem and Mohammed Shakil deny the charge

A man accused of helping the 7 July suicide bombers has told his trial that training alongside mujahideen fighters felt "like a bungee jump".

Mohammed Shakil, 31, said it had been a "great thrill" to fire guns at a mountain camp in Pakistan in 1999.

But he told jurors he was later beaten up by lead bomber Mohammad Siddique Khan in a row over money.

Prosecutors say Mr Shakil and two others went to London in 2004 to scout for bomb targets. All deny the charge.

Stealing cash

Mr Shakil told jurors at Kingston Crown Court that in 2003 he attended another militant training camp with Khan, the ringleader of the suicide bombings.

But less than a year later, having returned to the UK, the pair dramatically fell out when a petty dispute got out of hand.

He was attacking my body, my head, the rest of me Mohammed Shakil

Mr Shakil told the court that Khan physically assaulted him in August 2004 after accusing him of stealing cash raised in Leeds which he was sending to Kashmir.

"He started attacking me, very badly," Mr Shakil recalled.

"Sid used martial arts moves on me, elbows, knees, punching me on the floor.

"He was attacking my body, my head, the rest of me."

Mr Shakil said the attack only stopped when another future 7 July bomber, Shehzad Tanweer, dragged Khan off him.

'Fired lots'

Mr Shakil, also told the court that he spent 1999 in the disputed region of Kashmir, where he was born.

The court heard that the local mujahideen had been impressed with his support for them and invited him to a "starter camp" for new recruits.

Mr Shakil, a polio sufferer, decided to attend despite his disability.

He said he spent the first day studying politics and religion and hearing nationalistic talk, before going on to fire weapons.

Mr Shakil said: "Firing weapons high in the mountains had been a way to let off steam."

"I fired lots. It was a bungee jump for me."

He said he had been drawn into militant activity by his concern for the disputed region.

"My family would fully support the struggle in Kashmir," he said.

"Everyone pretty much held that view. That's the common view [of British Muslims]".

Mr Shakil, Sadeer Saleem and Waheed Ali all deny conspiracy to cause an explosion. The case continues.