Bin Laden 'likes hugs not kisses'

I never figured Osama for the 'touchy-feeley' type and Jack, you shoulda stayed with the beer.

Australia's "Jihad Jack", convicted of receiving funds from al-Qaeda, says Osama Bin Laden does not like being kissed but is happy to be hugged.

Joseph "Jack" Thomas, who met Bin Laden three times in Afghanistan, discussed the al-Qaeda leader's preferences in an interview broadcast after his trial.

Thomas, 32, also said his own love of beer had made his conversion to Islam, which bans alcohol, a dilemma.

Thomas is still to be sentenced but his lawyers say he plans to appeal.

An interview with Thomas was shown on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's Four Corners programme on Monday and other details have also been published in The Age.

"I never really thought I'd be a Muslim," he told ABC. "I'd say, 'Oh look, you know, I really love your religion but I really love my beer'."

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