"It came to a point where our concern for the safety and security of the
public far outweighed our appetite for collecting evidence," said McDonell, the
RCMP deputy commissioner.
The U.S. counterterrorism official added there was no reason to believe the
group had U.S. targets in mind, but also no reason to exclude the potential.
Canadian police say there is no evidence the suspect group had ties to
al-Qaida, but describe its members as being sympathetic to jihadist ideology.
Officials are concerned that many of the 17 suspects were roughly 20 years old
and had been radicalized in a short amount of time.
The Ontario Court of Justice released details of the charges faced by the 12
adult men arrested Friday and Saturday. The men are scheduled to appear in court
Tuesday for a bail hearing.
Each is charged with one count of participating in a terrorist group.
Three of them — Fahim Ahmad, 21, Mohammed Dirie, 22, and Yasim Abdi Mohamed,
24 — also are charged with importing weapons and ammunition for the purpose of
terrorist activity.
Nine face charges of receiving training from a terrorist group, while four
are charged with providing training. Six also are charged with intending to
cause an explosion that could cause serious bodily harm or death.
No information was released on the five young males arrested due to federal
privacy laws that protect minors.
Canadian media have reported that the suspects attended a training camp in
Washago, a rural community 90 north of Toronto. The National Post quoted
unidentified residents in the wooded area as saying they heard machine-gun fire
and saw men dressed in camouflage carrying equipment.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police displayed evidence Saturday that included
camouflage uniforms, flashlights, walkie-talkies and detonators, but have
refused to confirm whether they were used at a training facility.
Officials announced Saturday that the suspects were arrested after the group
acquired three tons of ammonium nitrate, which can be mixed with fuel oil to
make a powerful explosive. One-third that amount was used in the deadly bombing
of the Oklahoma City federal building in 1995.
The Toronto Star reported that undercover Mounties delivered the substance to
the group in a sting operation. The Star, citing unidentified sources, said the
suspects actually received a harmless substance.
Some people who know the suspects said they were astonished by the arrests.
But Faheem Bukhari, a director of the Mississauga Muslim Community Center,
said Jamal, the oldest suspect, had taken to giving hateful sermons and
preaching intolerance to young Muslims at a small storefront mosque in
Mississauga, a city near Toronto where six of the suspects lived.
"These youth were very fun-loving guys, soccer-loving guys, and then all of
sudden they were not associating with guys they used to," Bukhari told AP,
referring to some of the younger suspects.
He said Jamal once told "the audience that the Canadian Forces were going to
Afghanistan to rape women."
Canada has about 2,300 soldiers in southern Afghanistan to bolster Afghan
reconstruction and combat Taliban militants.
Bukhari's description contrasted with the view of another prayer leader at
the mosque, who said while Jamal was "aggressive" in his sermons but never
promoted hatred or violence.
"I will say that they were steadfast, religious people. There's no doubt
about it. But here we always preach peace and moderation," Qamrul Khanson said
Sunday.
