Canada nabs two in alleged Qaeda-backed train plot
CANADA: Two foreign nationals have been arrested in Canada in
connection with what federal police said Monday was a plot backed by
Al-Qaeda to derail a passenger train in the Toronto area.
“Today’s arrests demonstrate that terrorism continues to be a real
threat to Canada,” Public Safety Minister Vic Toews warned.
Chiheb Esseghaier, 30, and Raed Jaser, 35, were allegedly planning to
carry out an attack on a Via Rail passenger train, the Royal Canadian
Mounted Police (RCMP) told a news conference. A bail hearing was set for
Tuesday. Charges filed against the two include conspiring to carry out
an attack and conspiring with a terrorist group to murder persons,
though very few details about the plot were revealed.
Assistant RCMP Commissioner James Malizia told reporters the suspects
“were receiving support from Al-Qaeda elements located in Iran” but
added: “There’s no indication that these attacks were state-sponsored.”
When asked to describe the kind of support offered, he replied:
“Direction and guidance.” Malizia said the suspects are “not Canadian
citizens” but declined to reveal their nationalities. One of the two men
lived in Montreal for several years, he added, without saying which one.
The suspects’ plans were “not based on their ethnic origins but on an
ideology,” police said.
RCMP Chief Superintendent Jennifer Strachan said the duo -- who had
been under surveillance since last August -- planned “to derail a
passenger train” in the Toronto area, though she would not specify which
route.
“We are alleging these individuals took steps and conducted
activities to initiate a terrorist attack. They watched trains and
railways in the Greater Toronto area,” Strachan added.
However, police emphasized that an attack had not been imminent.
“While the RCMP believed that these individuals had the capacity and
intent to carry out these criminal acts, there was no imminent threat to
the general public, rail employees, train passengers or infrastructure,”
said an RCMP statement.
The arrests come one week after the twin bombings at the Boston
Marathon killed three people and wounded 200, and as Canada’s parliament
debates a proposal to beef up anti-terror laws, including criminalizing
the travel of Canadians abroad in order to participate in an attack.
It appeared there was no link between the Boston bombings and the
alleged train plot.
The US Federal Bureau of Investigation was involved in the Canadian
investigation, though the extent of the information-sharing was not
immediately clear.
AFP
|