Toronto Star: Tempers flare outside court

Shouting broke out between court staff and family members of one of the 17 alleged terrorists scheduled this morning for bail hearings.

As clusters of family members began to trickle into the Brampton courtroom, three women wearing burkas, saying they were being harassed by the media, pushed their way through a security line.

After a shouting match with court staff, they obeyed orders to return to the end of the line.

By the noon break, nine of the 12 adult men accused of plotting terrorist attacks had appeared to set a date for bail hearings.

But, Tarek Fatah, communications director for the Muslim Canadian Congress, plays the RACE CARD.

They said they have not been allowed to pray together and have not been allowed to see their families.

Other friends and family of the accused arriving at the courthouse also complained of media “harassment.”

“These (family members) are not the accused. “This is racism. It is the people who appear to look like Muslims that are the ones being questioned about their families.”

Complain and WHINE. Damn these terrorists are needy sorts aren’t they?

COWARDS…….

Stay tuned………

A joint forces operation brings terrorism suspects for processing at the Durham Regional Police station at Kingston and Brock roads in Pickering on Friday evening.

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Canada Terrorist Watch: United States Links to Canada Terrorist Plot Investigated

Canada Terrorism Watch: Canadian Terror Probe Expands to 7 nations

Canada Terrorism Watch: Toronto Mosque Vandalized

Canada Terrorism Watch: Terrorists from “Broad Strata” of Society

Canada Terrorism Watch: Suspects Complain About Conditions and Demand Korans

Canada Terrorism Watch: 17 Canadians in Custody for Terrorist Plot to Use Explosives

Technorati Tags: Canada, Terrorists

A terror suspect is transferred to a prisoner transportation vehicle in Pickering, Ontario, last Saturday.

Washington Times: U.S. links to Canadian plot probed

U.S. and Canadian officials are investigating links between Canadian terror suspects accused of plotting to bomb government buildings and Islamic militants in the United States and other countries.

Investigators are looking at links between two Atlanta men arrested in March after they videotaped the U.S. Capitol and at least three other Washington locations and two Canadians identified as part of a terrorist ring. The Canadians were arrested last year trying to smuggle weapons into Canada.

Ehsanul Islam Sadequee, 19, and Syed Haris Ahmed, 21, both U.S. citizens and Georgia residents, were arrested and later indicted after they traveled to Canada to meet with at least three other targets of an ongoing FBI terrorism investigation in March 2005.

An FBI affidavit said they discussed “strategic locations in the United States suitable for a terrorist strike.

Michelle Malkin in her piece, THE GEORGIA CONNECTION has a copy of the affidavit:

READ IT ALL……

I obtained the unsealed March 2006 affidavit detailing charges against Ehsanul Islam Sadequee, one of the two Georgia-based Muslim men tied to the Canada terror bust. There are many interesting tidbits included–note the encrypted CD that FBI technicians are unable to crack and the court-authorized electronic surveillance on a phone conversation between one of the suspected jihadis and his siter–so I’m reprinting the entire document here:

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – -X
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA File Under Seal
– against -AFFIDAVIT IN SUPPORT
OF ARREST WARRANT
EHSANUL ISLAM SADEQUEE,
Defendant.
(Title 18, United StatesCode, Section 1001)
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – -X

Michael Scherck, being duly sworn, deposes and says, that he is a Special Agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), being appointed according to law and acting as such.

On or about August 18, 2005, within the Eastern District of New York, the defendant EHSANUL ISLAM SADEQUEE, in a matter within the jurisdiction of the executive branch of the Government of the United States, did knowingly and willfully make a materially false, fictitious and fraudulent statement and
misrepresentation, in violation of Section 1001(a)(2) of Title 18 of the United States Code.

(Title 18, United States Code, Section 1001).

The source of my information and the grounds for my belief are as follows:

1. I am a Special Agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), assigned to the Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) in the Atlanta Division Field Office. I have been employed as a Special Agent with the FBI since June 1, 2004. I have eight years’ prior law enforcement experience. My duties are to investigate violations of federal law, including acts of terrorism and related criminal offenses.

2. This affidavit sets forth the evidence that I believe provides sufficient probable cause for the issuance of a warrant for the arrest of EHSANUL ISLAM SADEQUEE for violating 18 USC § 1001, False Statements to Law Enforcement. The information provided below is based upon my personal and direct knowledge as well as upon information conveyed to me by other law enforcement and government officials and my review of records, documents,
interview reports, and other materials. The evidence presented in this affidavit is what I believe necessary for establishing probable cause; the affidavit does not include all the information gathered in this investigation.

OVERVIEW

3. Ehsanul Islam SADEQUEE is a United States citizen of Bangladeshi descent. He was born on July 30, 1986, in Fairfax, Virginia. He lived with his mother, brother and sister in Roswell, Georgia. He attended high school in Canada and has not attended college. In August of last year, SADEQUEE traveled to Bangladesh, ostensibly to get married. He has not yet returned and is believed to have remained in Bangladesh. SADEQUEE has been the subject of a JTTF investigation for several months.

4. Syed Haris AHMED is a naturalized American citizen. He was born in Pakistan on December 9, 1984, and moved to the United States when he was about 12 years old. He still has family in Pakistan. He possesses both a Pakistani and a US passport. His parents and siblings reside in Dawsonville, Georgia. AHMED stays with his parents often, but his primary residence is a house in downtown Atlanta. He attends the Georgia Institute of Technology and currently works at a Muslim perfumery in Smyrna, Georgia.

5. On March 23, 2006, a federal grand jury in the Northern District of Georgia indicted AHMED for material support of terrorism (18 USC § 2339A).

6. In March of 2005, SADEQUEE and AHMED traveled to Canada together via Greyhound bus. While there, they met with several other targets of an ongoing JTTF investigation. The two stayed in Canada for several days. SADEQUEE, when subsequently interviewed by JTTF agents about this trip, lied twice about the joint travel, telling the agents (1) that he traveled alone and (2) that he stayed with his aunt while there. These false statements form the basis for this application for a criminal complaint.
THE CHRONOLOGY

I. INTERVIEW OF SADEQUEE

7. On August 18, 2005, two JTTF agents consensually interviewed SADEQUEE at JFK Airport in New York, just prior to the departure of SADEQUEE’s outbound flight to Bangladesh. The purposes of the interview were to determine where in Bangladesh (and perhaps beyond) he was traveling, his prior foreign travel, his associates and contacts, and other issues relevant to his trip and this investigation. During the interview, SADEQUEE stated that
he was going to Bangladesh to get married and that he would be there for up to nine months, in order to obtain a visa for his new wife so that she could return with him to the United States.

8. When asked about other, earlier foreign travel, SADEQUEE explained that he had traveled to Canada via Greyhound bus in January 2005 (the wrong date). He claimed that while in Canada, he had stayed with his aunt in Toronto. The only name SADEQUEE would provide for his aunt was “Manju Auntie”; he said he did not know the name of her husband. Finally, SADEQUEE stated that he traveled to Canada alone.

9. As part of their investigation into SADEQUEE’s travels, federal agents also conducted a routine outbound search of SADEQUEE’S checked luggage. Agents found, concealed in the lining of SADEQUEE’s lone suitcase, two CD-ROMs. One CD contained encrypted files that FBI technical experts remain unable to decode. The other CD contained an apparent bootleg copy of a hard-core ############ film. Concealed along with the CDs was a Fairfax County Visitors’ Center map of the Washington, D.C., and Alexandria, Virginia, areas.

II. FIRST INTERVIEW OF AHMED

10. The day after SADEQUEE was interviewed and then departed for Bangladesh, AHMED returned from a month’s trip to Pakistan. He arrived at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta on August 19, where he was interviewed by federal agents. AHMED stated that his purpose for traveling to Pakistan was two-fold: to visit family and to seek Islamic schooling. He claimed to have stayed with relatives while he was in Pakistan.

11. When questioned about other foreign travel, AHMED explained that he had visited Toronto during March of 2005 (the correct date). He stated that the purpose of the Canada trip was to visit friends and family. AHMED added that he traveled to Canada with his friend, “Shifa” Sadequee. (“Shifa” is the nickname SADEQUEE provided for himself in his interview the day before.) AHMED said that he had met SADEQUEE at a mosque in Atlanta. According to AHMED, when he and SADEQUEE were in Canada, they stayed with a friend, and not with SADEQUEE’s aunt.

III. RECORDS-BASED INVESTIGATION

12. FBI agents, following up on the discrepancies between SADEQUEE and AHMED’s versions of events concerning the Canada trip, acquired several documents that demonstrated that SADEQUEE had lied when he said he traveled alone.

13. First, records obtained from Greyhound showed two tickets, sharing the same confirmation number, being issued to SADEQUEE and AHMED, for travel from Atlanta to Toronto on March 6, 2005, with a return to Atlanta scheduled for March 13, 2005. Second, bank records indicated a $280 debit, dated February 26, 2005, from SADEQUEE’s account for the purchase of two Greyhound tickets. Finally, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) records placed SADEQUEE and AHMED crossing the border from Canada back into the United States only moments apart on March 12, 2005.

IV. FOLLOW-UP INTERVIEWS WITH AHMED

14. AHMED, in a series of interviews in March 2006, provided a fuller picture of the March 2005 trip to Canada. First, he acknowledged that the purpose of the trip was for SADEQUEE and AHMED to meet with like-minded Islamic extremists. According to AHMED, while he and SADEQUEE were in Canada, they met regularly with at least three subjects of an FBI international terrorism investigation. AHMED further explained that, during some of these meetings, he, SADEQUEE, and the others discussed strategic locations in the United States suitable for a terrorist strike, to include oil refineries and military bases. They also plotted how to disable the Global Positioning System in an effort to disrupt military and commercial communications and traffic. Finally, the assembled group developed a plan for traveling to Pakistan where they would attempt to receive military training at one of the several terrorist-sponsored camps. (AHMED later traveled to Pakistan in an attempt to receive just such training.)

15. During these interviews, AHMED repeatedly confirmed that he and SADEQUEE traveled together.1/ Moreover, AHMED reinforced the point that he and SADEQUEE did not stay with SADEQUEE’s aunt; rather, they stayed with an individual with whom they were conspiring concerning the travel to terrorist camps and the plots against civilian and military installations in the United States.

MATERIALITY

16. The recent interviews with AHMED demonstrate that the trip to Canada was for terrorism-related planning and coordination. SADEQUEE, rather than choosing to remain silent, lied to federal agents about two material aspects of his trip to Canada: who his traveling companion was and where they stayed. Both of these facts, had they not been untruthfully withheld, would have assisted the Government in its ongoing terrorism investigation.

CONCLUSION

17. I submit that the above information establishes probable cause to believe that Ehsanul Islam SADEQUEE has committed a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1001, in that he has made materially false statements in connection with an ongoing federal terrorism investigation, a matter within the jurisdiction of the executive branch of the Government of the United States.

[Footnote] 1/SADEQUEE’s sister has also confirmed that he traveled toCanada with AHMED. In November, 2005, SADEQUEE’s sister spoke withAHMED and, during the course of the conversation, which wasmonitored by court-authorized electronic surveillance, stated“Shifa is traveling back and forth. You guys visited Toronto together.”

18. Because of the nature and content of this Affidavit, we respectfully request that Affidavit, and Arrest Warrant in this matter shall be sealed until further Order of this Court, except that said documents may be disclosed by the United States to other United States and foreign law enforcement officials, including Interpol officials, judges, and other persons to the extent necessary to pursue the arrest, capture, and transfer to the United States of the defendant in this matter.

WHEREFORE, your deponent respectfully requests that the defendant be dealt with according to law.

MICHAEL SCHERCK
SPECIAL AGENT
FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION

Sworn to before me this
28th day of March, 2006

THE HONORABLE JOAN AZRACK
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
EASTERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK

And who NOW will criticize the FBI and the NSA for intercepting computer/internet/telephone communications? And what role these law enforcement tools and travel restrictions/passport controls have on terrorist activities.

Since 9/11 no additonal attacks on USA soil but we must remain ever vigilant.

And the United States must better SECURE OUR BORDERS.

Court hearings are now occurring outside of Toronto for the 17 terrorists arrested last week.

Stay tuned……

Allah has Report: Canadian jihadis were planning two attacks 

One was the truck bomb, the other was an old-fashioned shoot-’em-up. Odd that we haven’t seen more of the latter. Granted, it’s not highlight-reel material the way planes crashing into skyscrapers are, but that hasn’t stopped Iraqi terrorists. And amassing guns and ammo is cheaper and harder to detect than trafficking in explosives.

This at least explains why the Canadians were practicing their marksmanship at that terror camp. NaPo has a scoop about that, too.

A man is taken into custody in an unmarked car last night at 19 Division police station in Pickering after a series of arrests in the Greater Toronto Area.
Blogosphere:

More arrests possible in the Canada probe.
Canada’s jihad generation
Dan Riehl on the Washago Terrorist Training Camp
Andy McCarthy: The elephant in the room
“No common denominator”

Previous:

Canada Terrorism Watch: Canadian Terror Probe Expands to 7 nations

Canada Terrorism Watch: Toronto Mosque Vandalized

Canada Terrorism Watch: Terrorists from “Broad Strata” of Society

Canada Terrorism Watch: Suspects Complain About Conditions and Demand Korans

Canada Terrorism Watch: 17 Canadians in Custody for Terrorist Plot to Use Explosives

Technorati Tags: Canada, Terrorists

Mohammad Alam, President of the Toronto Islamic Foundation, speaks to police outside the Foundation’s centre in Toronto, on Sunday, June 4, 2006, following a press conference.

ASSociated Press: Canadian terror probe expands to 7 nations

Police said Monday more arrests are likely in an alleged plot to bomb buildings in Canada, while intelligence officers sought ties between the 17 suspects and Islamic terror cells in the United States and five other nations.

A court said authorities had charged all 12 adults arrested over the weekend with participating in a terrorist group. Other charges included importing weapons and planning a bombing. The charges against five minors were not made public.

The Parliament of Canada, located in Ottawa, was believed to be one of the targets the group discussed.

Authorities said more arrests were expected, possibly this week, as police pursue leads about a group that they say was inspired by the violent ideology of the al-Qaida terror network.

“This investigation is not finished,” Mike McDonell, deputy commissioner for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, told Canadian Broadcasting Corp. on Monday. “Anybody that aided, facilitated or participated in this terrorist event will be arrested and prosecuted in court.”

Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day also predicted more arrests. Another senior government official told The Associated Press on Sunday that more warrants were being gathered and that arrests were likely, possibly this week.

Although both Canadian and U.S. officials said over the weekend there was no indication the purported terror group had targets outside Ontario, McDonnell told National Public Radio on Monday that the inquiry has expanded beyond Canada.

And about that NSA Surveillance program – don’t hear much from the critics.

A U.S. law enforcement official said investigators were looking for connections between those detained in Canada and suspected Islamic militants held in the United States, Britain, Bangladesh, Bosnia, Denmark and Sweden.

American authorities have established that two men from Georgia who were charged this year in a terrorism case had been in contact with some of the Canadian suspects via computer, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the investigation is continuing.

Prosecutors have said the Georgia men, Ehsanul Islam Sadequee and Syed Haris Ahmed, traveled to Washington to shoot “casing videos” of the Capitol and other potential targets.

Sadequee, 19, a U.S. citizen who grew up near Atlanta, is accused of lying to federal authorities during an
FBI terrorism investigation. Ahmed, 21, a Georgia Tech student, faces a charge he provided material support and resources for terrorism.

Nope, do not hear much BLEATING at all about the NSA Surveillance Program.

Stay tuned…….

A man is taken into custody in an unmarked car last night at 19 Division police station in Pickering after a series of arrests in the Greater Toronto Area.

Previous:

Canada Terrorism Watch: Toronto Mosque Vandalized 

Canada Terrorism Watch: Terrorists from “Broad Strata” of Society

Canada Terrorism Watch: Suspects Complain About Conditions and Demand Korans

Canada Terrorism Watch: 17 Canadians in Custody for Terrorist Plot to Use Explosives

Technorati Tags: Canada, Terrorists

The International Muslims Organization of Toronto mosque, located on Rexdale Boulevard in northwest Toronto, was vandalized on the weekend.

Reuters: Toronto mosque vandalized after 17 arrests

Vandals smashed windows of a Toronto mosque after a weekend police sweep that netted 17 suspected al Qaeda sympathizers accused of plotting bomb attacks, and Canadian Muslims expressed fear on Sunday that a backlash had begun.

“Numerous windows were smashed” at the mosque either late Saturday or early on Sunday and the incident was being investigated, a police official said in an interview.

A second official said he had no information on whether there was a link between the vandalism and the arrests.

Mohammad Alam, the president Islamic Foundation of Toronto, said the incident may be the beginning of religiously motivated reprisals against the country’s Muslim population, estimated at more than 600,000.

While he said he backed the government’s efforts at stamping out terrorism, Alam noted that nothing has been proven thus far in the case, which has gripped the country.

“Like everybody knows, this is so far all allegation,” Alam said. “To us, it doesn’t matter what religion they belong to — if they’re a terrorist, they’re a terrorist, they should be punished according to the law.”

Vandalism of a mosque and the 17 arrested have not even been convicted of ANYTHING.

Where is the tolerance? Where are Intternational Human Rights Organizations when you need them?

And now Canada will want their own Gitmo, no?

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is also wary of reaction to the arrests. However, Acting Sgt. Michele Paradis said on Sunday “this isn’t about religion or ethnic groups. This is about criminal behavior.”

Canada and the West are involved in a Global War on Terror against radical islamo-fascists who want to impose their Muslim theocracy.

Will this be a wake-up call for Canada?

Perhaps…….

A group of women identified as relatives of some of the men arrested last night on terrorism charges wait to be let in to the Brampton courthouse Saturday, June 3, 2006.

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Canada Terrorism Watch: Terrorists from “Broad Strata” of Society

Canada Terrorism Watch: Suspects Complain About Conditions and Demand Korans

Canada Terrorism Watch: 17 Canadians in Custody for Terrorist Plot to Use Explosives

Technorati Tags: Canada, Terrorists

A joint forces operation brings terrorism suspects for processing at the Durham Regional Police station at Kingston and Brock roads in Pickering on Friday evening.

and…..

A man is taken into custody in an unmarked car last night at 19 Division police station in Pickering after a series of arrests in the Greater Toronto Area.

The Globe and Mail: Accused in terrorism plot from a “broad strata” of society

From an unmarried computer programmer to a university health sciences graduate and the unemployed, the 17 suspects charged in a foiled terrorist plot represent a “broad strata” of Canadian society.

“Some are students, some are employed, some are unemployed,” RCMP assistant Commissioner Mike McDonell said Saturday.

Family members wept as the 17 accused, five of whom were youths at the time of the alleged crimes and cannot be named, were brought into a Brampton courtroom in small groups, handcuffed and shackled at the feet.

“Broad Strata,” EH?

Those terrorists and their women look like Islamic Jihadists to Flap. This euphemistic attempt to hide the truth is ludicrous.

A group of women identified as relatives of some of the men arrested last night on terrorism charges wait to be let in to the Brampton courthouse Saturday, June 3, 2006.

Here are the adult suspects:

1. Fahim Ahmad, 21, of Robinstone Drive, Toronto, Ontario;
2. Zakaria Amara, 20, of Periwinkle Crescent, Mississauga, Ontario;
3. Asad Ansari, 21, of Rosehurst Drive, Mississauga, Ontario;
4. Shareef Abdelhaleen, 30, of Lowville Heights, Mississauga, Ontario;
5. Qayyum Abdul Jamal, 43, of Montevideo Road, Mississauga, Ontario;
6. Mohammed Dirie, 22, Kingston, Ontario;
7. Yasim Abdi Mohamed, 24, Kingston, Ontario;
8. Jahmaal James, 23, of Trudelle Street, Toronto, Ontario;
9. Amin Mohamed Durrani, 19, of Stonehill Court, Toronto, Ontario;
10. Steven Vikash Chand alias Abdul Shakur, 25, of Treverton Drive, Toronto, Ontario;
11. Ahmad Mustafa Ghany, 21, of Robin Drive, Mississauga, Ontario;
12. Saad Khalid, 19, of Eclipse Avenue, Mississauga, Ontario.

Real Canadian names from the “Broad Strata” of Canadian society…..NOT!

Most of the group, who were remanded into custody until their next court appearance on Tuesday, wore street clothes although some appeared in white jump suits.

The majority sported the traditional Muslim male beard.

Alvin Chand, brother of Toronto suspect Steven Vikash Chand, scoffed at the charges outside the courthouse.

“He’s not a terrorist, come on, he’s a Canadian citizen” Mr. Chand said of his brother. “The people that were arrested are good people. They go to the mosque. They go to school, go to college.”

RIGHT……

Michelle Malkin has EUPHEMISM O’ THE DAY: “BROAD STRATA”

Oh, dear Lord. A jihadist plot, possibly of global scale, possibly imminent, unravels in Canada…and what do law enforcement officials do? Try to whitewash the obvious jihadi profile from the public’s mind.

At the press briefing held by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police today, the suspects who appeared in court–all sporting traditional Muslim male beards and requesting Korans–were described as coming from a “broad strata“of society. (Hat tip: reader Ed)

Broad strata.

Yes, the same “broad strata” from which the 9/11 hijackers, 1993 World Trade Center bombers, USS Cole bombers, etc., etc., etc., came.

Captain Ed has Broad Strata?

The RCMP and all of the Canadian government can keep talking about broad strata all day long, but the seventeen have this much in common: they are all Muslim, something that the G&M manages to slyly emphasize in that last line. If the RCMP hopes to jolly Canadian Muslims into feeling comfortable, then their efforts have not paid off:

Gee, why does he suppose that might be? Is he prepared to argue that their possession of three tons of ammonium nitrate was meant for a new 4-H club project, perhaps?

The only broad strata at work is the network of multicultural apologists that will attempt to make themselves feel good by ignoring the obvious connection between these suspects, the one that even a child could detect from the list of suspects and their involvement in Islamist websites. That broad strata will go to their deaths rather than admit that radical Islam comprises a threat against Western civilization. Unfortunately, they will take the rest of us with them.

Stay tuned……..

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Canada Terrorism Watch: Suspects Complain About Conditions and Demand Korans

Canada Terrorism Watch: 17 Canadians in Custody for Terrorist Plot to Use Explosives

Technorati Tags: Canada, Terrorists

A group of women identified as relatives of some of the men arrested last night on terrorism charges wait to be let in to the Brampton courthouse Saturday, June 3, 2006.

Toronto Star: Huge bomb planned: police

Families waiting at the courthouse finally got a chance to see the detainees when they were brought before a justice of the peace around 3:30 p.m.

Handcuffed to one another and wearing leg irons the detainees stood silently while the justice of the peace remanded them into custody until June 6 when they are scheduled to reappear.

Through their lawyers, some complained about the conditions where they were held Friday night and asked that they be given copies of the Qur’an while in custody.

Flap says Gitmo would be a good start for these terrorists.

Let’s see how a different government deals with their own homegrown terrorists.

Bet they don’t have their Korans yet……..

A man is taken into custody in an unmarked car last night at 19 Division police station in Pickering after a series of arrests in the Greater Toronto Area.

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Canada Terrorism Watch: 17 Canadians in Custody for Terrorist Plot to Use Explosives

Technorati Tags: Canada, Terrorists

A joint forces operation brings terrorism suspects for processing at the Durham Regional Police station at Kingston and Brock roads in Pickering on Friday evening.

ASSociated Press: 17 Terror Suspects Arrested in Toronto

Seventeen Canadian residents were in custody Saturday on terrorism- related charges, including plots to use explosives in attacks on Canadian soil, authorities said.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said they arrested 12 male adults and five youth and foiled plans for terrorist attacks against targets in southern Ontario.

Officials showed evidence of bomb making materials, a computer hard drive, camouflage uniforms and what appears to be a door with bullet holes in it at a news conference Saturday morning.

“This group took steps to acquire three tons of ammonium nitrate and other components necessary to create explosive devices,” said assistant Royal Canadian Mounted Police commissioner Mike McDonell said.

McDonell said that is three times the amount used to blow up the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City.

The arrests were made Friday, with some 400 officers involved.

McDonell said the suspects were either citizens or residents of Canada and had trained together.

And how were authorities alerted to this terrorist cell?

The Answer: Internet monitoring

And there were ties to United States “like-minded Islamic extremists.”

The Canadian investigation involves a complicated web of connections, with alleged ties to two men from Georgia who came to Toronto in March 2005 to meet with “like-minded Islamic extremists,” according to U.S. court documents.

And the Canadians are complaining about new American passport controls?

Too bad…….

Canadian police display a home-made bomb detonator and equipment seized as evidence during the arrest of a group of people on anti-terrorism charges, at a news conference in Toronto, June 3, 2006.
Border security is of paramount importance to the United States.

Now, when will those National Guard troops be deployed at the Mexican border?

Not soon enough!

This officer is one of numerous heavily-armed police standing guard in front of the Durham Regional Police station at Kingston and Brock roads in Pickering on Friday evening. A joint forces operation brought suspects there for processing.

And the United States needs to tighten the border with Canada.

Intelligence officials believe at least 50 terror groups now have some presence in the North American nation and have long complained that the country’s immigration laws and border security are too weak to weed out potential terrorists.

Stay tuned…..

Michelle Malkin has CANDIAN TERROR BUST

Pajamas Media rundown.

Threats Watch breaks down the details, including this stunner:

3 tons of ammonium nitrate found–three times that used in the 1995 OKC bombing.

John Stephenson notes that Internet monitoring led to the raid.

Canadian blogger Stephen Taylor has the lowdown on the Muslim “youths” arrested and has must-read ongoing coverage.

From the RCMP press release:

Arrested and charged with offences under the Criminal Code of Canada are:

1. Fahim Ahmad, 21, of Robinstone Drive, Toronto, Ontario;
2. Zakaria Amara, 20, of Periwinkle Crescent, Mississauga, Ontario;
3. Asad Ansari, 21, of Rosehurst Drive, Mississauga, Ontario;
4. Shareef Abdelhaleen, 30, of Lowville Heights, Mississauga, Ontario;
5. Qayyum Abdul Jamal, 43, of Montevideo Road, Mississauga, Ontario;
6. Mohammed Dirie, 22, Kingston, Ontario;
7. Yasim Abdi Mohamed, 24, Kingston, Ontario;
8. Jahmaal James, 23, of Trudelle Street, Toronto, Ontario;
9. Amin Mohamed Durrani, 19, of Stonehill Court, Toronto, Ontario;
10. Steven Vikash Chand alias Abdul Shakur, 25, of Treverton Drive, Toronto, Ontario;
11. Ahmad Mustafa Ghany, 21, of Robin Drive, Mississauga, Ontario;
12. Saad Khalid, 19, of Eclipse Avenue, Mississauga, Ontario.

Blogosphere:

Glenn Reynolds

Darleen Click

Thomas Galvin

Captain’s Quarters

Allah over at Hot Air has a great set of links:

If you’re as late to the story as I am, get caught up with Michelle, then Pajamas Media, then the Counterterrorism Blog, which notes that jihadis have been recruiting homegrown Muslims precisely because they’re harder to detect. Judeoscope has the names of the twelve adult suspects; the other five are under 18. Kids are harder to detect too, no?

The Toronto Star says the suspects trained at a camp north of Toronto.

A terror training camp. North of Toronto.

Update: More details from the Star:

Most were Canadian citizens or residents. Police described them as coming from a broad “strata” of society. Some are students, some are employed, some are unemployed. The adults range in age from 19 to 43.

As usual, contrary to socialist dogma, the suspects weren’t poor and uneducated. Says the Star, “One was a math and chemistry whiz from Scarborough who grew up to become a 22-year-old husband and father.”

Ehsanul Islam Sadequee, a 19-year-old U.S. citizen of Bangladeshi descent who had attended high school in Ontario, and Syed Haris Ahmed, 21, a student at Georgia Tech, boarded a Greyhound bus in Atlanta on March 6, 2005, and travelled to Toronto to meet “like-minded Islamic extremists,” a U.S. court document alleges.

At the time the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force was watching the U.S. pair, Sadequee, according to court documents, was already on a no-fly list. But they crossed the border uneventfully and met three people associated with the group the Canadian authorities were watching.

Ahmed later told authorities that the meetings were to discuss U.S. locations suitable for a terrorist strike, including oil refineries and military bases, court documents state.

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Technorati Tags: Canada, Terrorists