Terror cell in Canada busted

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police busted a terror cell in the Toronto area of Canada, seizing chemicals used to make explosives and weapons.  (Hat Tip to Bud's Broadcast Network)

The new Prime Minister of Canada, Stephen Harper, has expressed his desire to clamp down on terrorism and to help secure the border between Canada and the USA.  "Jack Hooper, deputy director of operations at CSIS, said the service was trying to keep track of "350 high-level targets" as well as 50 to 60 organizations thought to be linked to groups such as al-Qaeda.

Canadian officials believe  "that an attack by militants inside Canada is inevitable.  "We know who and where some of them are".  God bless their efforts to prevent those attacks.

The suspects are either second-generation Canadians or recently immigrated to Canada with their families.

Sources claimed the men have no connection to al Qaeda, but were allegedly inspired by militant Islamic groups.  Undercover officers made the arrests.  At least 8 people were taken into custody and more than 100 police officers were involved in the sweep.  Authorities admit there is an "increasing threat from "home-grown terrorists" who are assimilated into society".

The arrests were made in co-operation with the Integrated National Security Enforcement Team, Cpl. Michele Paradis, a spokeswoman for the RCMP said in a release.

The operation involved at least four police forces, CSIS and the RCMP.

According to The Toronto Star, CSIS has monitored the suspects since 2004, while the RCMP began its investigation last year.

Sources discounted earlier reports that the CN Tower and the city's subway system were allegedly potential targets by the group.  source

The investigation is still ongoing and further arrests may be made.  A press conference is scheduled for today.

Cross posted at In the Bullpen, Hyscience, Freedom's Zone

UPDATE:  Powerline says "Preliminary reports is that those arrested are Muslims suspected of links to al Qaeda."  Powerline also has an update on the London terror arrest of yesterday:

Yesterday we noted that London police raided a house where chemical weapons of some kind were apparently being produced. Today comes the chilling news that a chemical suicide vest is believed to be missing:

    British police were searching for a "suicide vest" laced with dangerous chemicals after a raid of the alleged bomb factory yielded two suspects but no vest.

    Police think the vest has been made and will be set off at a busy bus or train station, or in a crowd watching a World Cup game in a local pub, The Times said.

In the Bullpen: 

The number arrested I keep seeing is 17.  This appears to have been the real thing busted too.  The suspects were allegedly trying to secure three tons of amonium nitrate, three times more than was used in Oklahoma City.  I have yet to hear what the intended targets were, assuming of course the CSIS knows.  There are also reports there is a small connection to two men arrested in Georgia this past February, though it’s not clear how deep this connection is.

Flopping Aces:

Where it appears that Canada has finally figured out that they are not immune from Fanatical Islam:

 

   Charged are Fahim Ahmad, 21, of Toronto; Zakaria Amara, 20, of Mississauga; Asad Ansari, 21, of Mississauga; Shareef Abdelhaleen, 30, of Mississauga; Qayyum Abdul Jamal, 43, of Mississauga; Mohammed Dirie, 22, of Kingston; Yasim Abdi Mohamed, 24, of Kingston; Jahmaal James, 23, of Toronto; Amin Mohamed Durrani, 19, of Toronto; Steven Vikash Chand (alias Abdul Shakur), 25, of Toronto; Ahmad Mustafa Ghany, 21, of Mississauga; and Saad Khalid, 19, of Mississauga.

Interesting enough this group was discovered by surveilling them using the web. That’s big brother for you.

    The chain of events began two years ago, sparked by local teenagers roving through Internet sites, reading and espousing anti-Western sentiments and vowing to attack at home, in the name of oppressed Muslims here and abroad.

UPDATE II:  Fox News Channel is reporting that the two Georgia Tech students recently arrested, may have had a connection with the Canadian terrorists arrested today:

Syed Haris Ahmed and Ehsanul Islam Sadequee, both U.S. citizens who grew up in the Atlanta area, met with at least three other targets of ongoing FBI terrorism investigations during a trip to Canada in March 2005, the FBI agent's affidavit said.

The affidavit said the men discussed attacks against oil refineries and military bases and planned to travel to Pakistan to get military training at a terrorist camp, which authorities said Ahmed then tried to do.

Ahmed, who was indicted on suspicion of giving material support of terrorism, was being held at an undisclosed location.

Sadequee, who is accused of making materially false statements in connection with an ongoing federal terrorism investigation, was arrested in Bangladesh and was en route to New York City to be arraigned.  source

UPDATE III via Shlemazl

Here is some background information on the suspects:

Rocco Galati, lawyer for two of the Mississauga suspects, said Ahmad Ghany is a 21-year-old health sciences graduate from McMaster University in Hamilton. He was born in Canada, the son of a medical doctor who emigrated from Trinidad and Tobago in 1955.

Shareef Abdelhaleen is a 30-year-old unmarried computer programmer of Egyptian descent, Galati said. He emigrated from Egypt at the age of 10 with his father who is now an engineer on contract with Atomic Energy of Canada, the lawyer said.

From bRight&Early, "Terror Suspects Arrested"

That is, according to McDonell, three times the amount used to blow up the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. Captain Ed quotes from the National Post and says that, "the homegrown jihadists appear to be the next wave of terrorists." He also raises this point:

Europe faces a similar situation, and now the question will be whether the US has something brewing in its mosques as well. We have already uncovered the Lodi mosque and the father-son jihadi team there. Canada has similar cultural flexibility as the US; to think that this could metastasize there but not here would be foolish indeed.

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Morning Coffee, "Massive terror attack averted: RCMP" The Anti-Jihad Pundit, "The plans of the "Canadian residents"" Donovan's Blog,:

The American soldier is risking his or her life in the desert and slums of Iraq and Afghanistan tonight to keep you safe from the types of animals they just arrested in Ontario, Canada. Do you know what three TONS of ammonium nitrate will do to civilian buildings? All Americans everywhere owe our American soldiers who have served and continue to serve in Iraq and Afghanistan a tremendous debt of personal gratitude. And as you tuck your kids in tonight you better hope those American soldiers continue to accomplish the heroic task that's been set before them. Anyways, thanks, GM.

Comments

[Debbie]

There is no excuse for the vandalizing of a mosque. It serves no purpose and only makes the ones who do it look on equal standing with the terrorists. Unacceptable. I hope this will be the only incident of such violence.

Let the courts do their job to prosecute and punish the guilty.

[Mujahideen Ryder]

This needs to stop!

http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2006/06/04/mosque-vandalized.html

[Mujahideen Ryder]

Honestly, Canada should not be hated at all. It is better than America being open to Muslims and minorities.

Those Muslims must have been on crack to think about doing some exremist things there.

I don't even think Canada likes America that much.

[Debbie]

Thanks for the update shlemazl and Bud. I have updated the post with the personal information of some of the terrorists.

Thanks for sharing the experiences of your friend and the thoughts of your step-father, Bud. I'm sure it is hard for him and others like him.

The firsts reports said the terrorists were "Muslim" but not "Arab", then that report was changed.

That's funny him calling them "retarded". ha

[shlemazl]

Thanks for this post. We just got information on who the terrorists are. Two of them live very close to me. Educated people of all ages. There is an apparent link to Atomic Energy Canada. They also had a training camp north of Toronto. Why bother going all the way to Pakistan?

[Bud]

Hi,

I'm watching the press conference right now. So it's 12 adults and 5 young people.

Now for Harper, well I have no complaints of what he's doing yet. Since he's consevative, he is going to be thougher on terror. Althought the under-cover operation on those terrorists started before e was in power. So the whole nation is cautious since 9/11.

I remember my friend had a suitcase and had a camera in it to film the school homecoming party a year ago. He took the subway (Montreal) and a security guard asked him to open the suitcase. It really looked like a suitcase bomb lol it's a scary looking. Oh and my friend is French Canadian and looks like a geek. So I'm glad they're not just watching arabs.

So yeah. It's still too early to say if Harper is great and all. But right now he's pretty good. I'm looking forward for the meeting with Bush in July I think.

Now I'm sure you're curious of what my step dad thinks about it since he's muslim. Well he seems to be a little offended that they're yet again concentrating on arabs. He said "meh Harper is trying to impress Bush" lol...but I guess he's just sick and tired of hearing all his own nationality ploting this stuff and he feels like left off/backslash of his image or some sort. So it's understandable. But he does keep saying that those terrorists are retarded lol

Anyways, if you have more questions, ask!

Bye.