Massive terror attack averted: RCMP

June 3, 2006 in Al Qaeda, Canada, Global War On Terror

A terror attack potentially three times more devastating than the Oklahoma City bombing has been averted, the RCMP alleged Saturday.

A counterterrorism sweep Friday resulted in the largest arrest ever made by the nation's anti-terrorism forces and raised, for the first time, the spectre of homegrown terrorists striking Canadians from within our borders.

RCMP Assistant Commissioner Mike McDonell announced the arrest of 12 Ontario men who were to appear in court later Saturday in Brampton, west of Toronto. The men ranged in age from 19 to 43, and are residents of Toronto, Mississauga and Kingston.

Five youths who cannot be identified under the Youth Criminal Justice Act have also been arrested and charged.

Those arrested and 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.

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Canadian Police say the group were "inspired" by Al Qaeda, yet have no direct ties to them. The police also alledge that the group trained in terror training camps north of Toronto. This brings up a few questions, such as Who runs and finances the training camps? Did these people have connections to Al Qaeda? And if not, who did they have ties to. No one is going to believe that someone is going to set up a training camp for freelance terrorists. Someone is calling the shots, and my guess is that due to the choice of words the police used "Inspired by Al Qaeda" leads me to believe that the connection is to a Wahabi Islamonazis. Since they had already aquired the explosives for their attack is  an indication that the target has been selected, and unless the police get a line on who is calling the shots for this particular terror cell other cells which could have trained at the same camp could be utilized to carry out the atack. Also is it mere coincidence that these arrests follow only one day after London Police made terror arrests of their own? 

The potential exists for Al Qaeda to attempt to launch multiple bombings/terror attacks in several different countries at nearly the same time to demonstrate their global reach, and show the world that they are still a force to be reckoned with.

Right Truth, Michelle Malkin, Assorted Babble, and Captains Quarters have more.