RCMP makes arrests after terror sweep
Several Toronto locations raided in largest terrorism probe since Air India bombings
Security was extremely tight last night outside the Durham Regional police station in Pickering, east of Toronto, where the suspects were being held. Police are expected to announce more details about the raid today.
Stewart Bell, The National Post;
TORONTO - Police tactical teams raided several locations in Greater Toronto yesterday as part of what is being described as Canada's largest terrorism investigation since the Air India bombings.
The RCMP has scheduled a news conference for today to announce it has made at least nine arrests under the Anti-terrorism Act, and was still seeking one suspect. Hundreds of officers were involved, and the arrests went without incident.
Police would provide few details, but a senior intelligence official disclosed this week that "homegrown" terrorists were looking at targets in Canada.
A source told The Canadian Press last night that the suspects were allegedly planning to detonate an explosive device somewhere in Ontario. The intended target was not clear.
The suspects were being held at a Durham Regional police station in Pickering, east of Toronto, where security was high. Tactical police officers armed with automatic weapons patrolled outside the station with police dogs.
Police vehicles blocked the entrance to the station, and the building was cordoned off with yellow tape.
Arrests in Canada have been widely anticipated since the FBI announced in April it had arrested two Georgia men, who apparently had Toronto connections, on terrorism-related charges.
At the time, the FBI said Ehsanul Sadeqee and Syed Ahmed met in Toronto with at least three subjects of a terrorism investigation to discuss training and attacks.
The Toronto men were described as "like-minded Islamic extremists," but were not further identified.
The charges would be the first under the Anti-terrorism Act since Orleans software developer Momin Khawaja was arrested in March 2004 for his alleged role in a British bombing conspiracy. Mr. Khawaja, 26, has been in custody at the Ottawa-Carleton Detention Centre, and is to stand trial in January.
The case comes as counter-terrorism efforts are increasingly focused on networks of "homegrown" extremists who subscribe to the "al-Qaeda ideology."
Top RCMP and Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) officials have emphasized the threat of homegrown terrorism during appearances before the Senate committee on national security and defence.
"We are seeing phenomena in Canada such as the emergence of homegrown, second- and third-generation terrorists," Jack Hooper, the CSIS deputy director of operations testified on Monday.
"These are people who may have immigrated to Canada at an early age who become radicalized while in Canada. They are virtually indistinguishable from other youth.
"They blend into our society very well, they speak our language and they appear to be, for all intents and purposes, well assimilated," he added.
"This is a growing phenomenon."
CSIS has been reporting for the past two years that a "new generation of jihadists" is emerging in Canada composed of youths angry about what they see as the oppression of Muslims.
"A small number of Islamic extremists in Canada advocate violent jihad in pursuit of their political or religious aims," says a recent intelligence report.
List of those arrested
Canadian Press
TORONTO -- A list of the adults arrested and charged with offences under the Criminal Code of Canada. Five youths, who cannot be named, were also charged:
1. Fahim Ahmad, 21, Toronto;
2. Zakaria Amara, 20, Mississauga, Ont.;
3. Asad Ansari, 21, Mississauga;
4. Shareef Abdelhaleen, 30, Mississauga;
5. Qayyum Abdul Jamal, 43, Mississauga;
6. Mohammed Dirie, 22, Kingston, Ont.;
7. Yasim Abdi Mohamed, 24, Kingston;
8. Jahmaal James, 23, Toronto;
9. Amin Mohamed Durrani, 19, Toronto;
10. Steven Vikash Chand alias Abdul Shakur, 25, Toronto;
11. Ahmad Mustafa Ghany, 21, Mississauga;
12. Saad Khali 19, of Eclipse Avenue, Mississauga.
The arrest of 17 people allegedly involved in a plot to detonate a massive bomb in southern Ontario illustrates with frightening reality that Canada is "not immune" to terrorism, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said in a brief statement Saturday.
"Today, Canada’s security and intelligence measures worked," Harper said. "These individuals were allegedly intent on committing acts of terrorism against their own country and their own people."
Police and security officials said at a news conference Saturday that the group was "inspired" but not linked to Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaida organization. But the prime minister, as well as groups representing Canada’s Islamic population, delayed their judgments of the frightening allegations, with some urging patience in the early hours following the arrest for fear that Muslims could suffer from a dangerous backlash.
On Saturday, RCMP officials confirmed 12 men and seven young people had been arrested Friday evening for allegedly plotting to bomb a target or targets in southern Ontario. Sources said the likely target was Toronto.
Police would only confirm that the city’s TTC transit system was not a target.
Among the items police seized in raids was three tonnes of ammonium nitrate, which is a key component in bombmaking. RCMP assistant commissioner Mike McDonell said -- putting that seizure in perspective -- that the deadly 1995 Oklahoma City terror bombing was caused by only one tonne of ammonium nitrate.
"This group was a real threat," McDonell said. They had the intention of committing those offences.
The suspects will appear in court later Saturday. Among the charges they face: participating in terror training activities, possession of firearms and explosives materials for purposes of terrorist activity, and making available property for the use of terrorist groups. The investigation involved more than 400 officers from several policing agencies, including RCMP, CSIS and police in the Toronto and southern Ontario region.
Authorities said all of the accused were either Canadian residents or Canadian citizens
© CanWest News Service 2006
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