QuoteCanadian authorities announced Monday they have broken up an Al Qaeda-linked terror plot to attack a passenger train as it crossed over a bridge in the Toronto area.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said Monday that two suspects have been arrested on terrorism charges. Chiheb Esseghaier and Raed Jaser, who live in greater Montreal and Toronto -- were conspiring to carry out an Al Qaeda-supported attack against Via Rail, but posed no immediate threat to the public.
"It was definitely in the planning stage but not imminent," RCMP chief superintendent Jennifer Strachan told reporters at a news conference.
The six-month investigation, called "Project Smooth," was coordinated with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the FBI, CBC said. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said in a statement the operation was coordinated by a multi-agency team comprised of the national police, Canadian Security Intelligence Services, the Canada Border Service Agency and other law enforcement and national security partners in Montreal and Toronto, Canada's two largest cities.
The plot is unrelated to the Boston Marathon attack, U.S. Justice Department sources said.
Charges against the two men include conspiring to carry out an attack and murder people in association with a terrorist group. Police said the men are not Canadian citizens, but they would not comment on where they are originally from.
Sources tell Fox News that the suspects wanted to have an economic impact and make a big statement.
The suspects are expected in Canadian court for a bail hearing Tuesday.
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/04/22/canadian-police-announce-arrests-suspects-planning-major-terrorist-attack/#ixzz2RFI9v6Kr
Good work on that one.
Thank you Canadistanis. I have actually been on that train too, I think...took it from Montreal to Quebec City on my honeymoon.
What I find curious is that the CNN & CBC reports that I read said that these two had support and direction for Al-Qaeda in Iran. AFAIK, Al-Qaeda is a Sunni extremist terror organization, and Iran is a Shi'ite theocracy. Also, AFAIK, the Sunnis and the Shi'ites get along like oil and water... akin to Catholics and Protestants in Europe in the 1600s.
So WTF is Al-Qaeda doing running operations out of Iran?
Trying to confuse us? I'm sure a Sunni terrorist would prefer hanging out with a Shiite instead of anyone from the West or better yet a Jew.
the enemy of my enemy is my friend....
Yes...and all that.
Quote from: Windigo on April 23, 2013, 02:30:08 PM
the enemy of my enemy is my friend....
Tell that to the Syrians!
Most of the talking heads on TV are scrambling to ignore the Iranian link.
I'm not so sure this isn't very much state-sponsored.
^ I'm not so sure about that. I certainly have no problem understanding why one may say that, but I have a feeling that -- at least in this instance -- the Iranians provided little in the way of support.
While Iran has unquestionably granted Al Qaeda a certain degree of safe haven, it's clear they've never been very comfortable with the arrangement. In fact, I read a month or two ago that they've begun kicking their leadership out of the country, and placing the rest under (what is effectively) house arrest.
Not that that means they're exactly unhappy anytime Al Qaeda manages to bloody the West's nose, of course. I'm just saying they'd much prefer their would-be co-belligerents operated out of someone else's front yard.