Three men accused of plotting to blow up passenger jets pleaded guilty to intent to cause explosions Monday, apparently in a bid to convince the court they did not want to cause mass murder.

The men -- Abdulla Ahmed Ali, 27, Assad Sarwar, 28, and Tanvir Hussain, 27 - said the plot was actually a publicity stunt for a movie.

They are accused of targeting at least seven airliners heading to Canada and the U.S. in 2006, including two Air Canada flights bound for Montreal and Toronto.

Prosecutors say the group wanted to kill hundreds of passengers using bombs concealed in soft drink bottles.

On Monday, the three men and two other defendants -- Ibrahim Savant, 27, and Umar Islam, 30 -- also admitted to "conspiring to cause a public nuisance'' by creating videos threatening suicide bomb attacks.

There are eight co-defendants in total, and all of the men are British with ties to Pakistan. They were close to carrying out their plan but were arrested in August 2006, the Crown alleges.

Although Ali, Sarwar and Hussain admitted to conspiring to cause explosions the men said they weren't targeting planes from London to North America.

Ali and Sarwar told the court they were getting the weapons together to stage a publicity stunt as a promotion for an anti-Western documentary.

Ali said he hoped a small, non-fatal blast at Britain's Houses of Parliament, an oil refinery, or at an airport would create attention for his film.

Jurors still need to decide on the main charge against the eight defendants.

"The most serious charge that they're still facing is conspiracy to murder," CTV's London Bureau Chief Tom Kennedy reported Monday. "They have not pleaded guilty to that charge, so the trial on that charge continues and it should go to the jury next week."

With files from The Associated Press