Posted on 06/03/2006 5:46:07 AM PDT by GMMAC
Major terror bust in Toronto
At least 8 in 'terror' cell arrested as police foil possible attack on TTC
Toronto Sun
June 3, 2006
By VIVIAN SONG AND BRETT CLARKSON, TORONTO SUN
TORONTO - In a stunning development yesterday, police made a sweeping terrorist bust within the GTA and expected to make several more arrests throughout the night.
"The RCMP, CSIS and the Integrated National Security Enforcement Team arrested individuals throughout the GTA today in relation to terrorist-related offences," confirmed RCMP spokesman Corp. Michele Paradis.
As of about 9 p.m. last night, Paradis also added "there are ongoing arrests."
Though unconfirmed, sources have told the Sun police arrested a possible home-grown al-Qaeda terrorist cell operating in Toronto that had planned to bomb the subway as early as Monday.
Just three days ago, Sun columnist Joe Warmington wrote about two men spotted filming the subway system on May 23 at Keele station, which raised alarm bells with Toronto Police and CSIS.
But sources also tell the Sun that the RCMP "planted" that story with the media, though reasons remain unclear.
Police had been watching several alleged terrorist camps since 2004 -- one of which is reported to be in the Muskokas near Bracebridge and another near Thunder Bay, a police source told Warmington late last night.
"Recently some officers followed two men who left the camp near Thunder Bay and headed to Toronto," said the source.
Another Sun source said there was a similar "terrorist" camp near Barry's Bay -- within an hour's drive of several Ontario nuclear operations.
Other source also tell the Sun the arrested individuals were amassing weapons.
"This is huge, this is massive."
Sources cited by the Canadian Press corroborate this claim, saying the suspects were arrested in the Toronto area for allegedly "plotting an attack with explosives."
"It is very serious," said a source who asked not to be named. "These people had plans."
While the targets were unclear, the aim was to detonate an explosive device in Ontario, they said.
"That's the tool of choice for anybody who wants to cause damage."
The enforcement team also includes GTA police forces and the department of justice.
Officials remained tight-lipped about the nature of the arrests, refusing to reveal the number of people arrested, who was arrested, the nature of the terrorist activities, when or where the arrests were made, fuelling conflicting reports.
Some news outlets discounted allegations the subway or the CN Tower were targets, and claimed the terrorists involved are not directly afilliated with al-Qaeda, but were inspired by them.
Others pegged the number of arrested at eight, and said the investigation involved around a hundred officers.
In November of 2002, al-Qaeda singled out six countries for supporting "the White House gang of butchers." Among them: Great Britain, France, Italy, Germany, Australia and Canada. Terrorists bombed London's subway system last July, killing 52 people.
Meanwhile, a quiet Mississauga neighbourhood got a shocking visit from ETF officers who stormed the new subdivision and busted down the door of a Rosehurst Dr. home at about 6:30 p.m. One neighbour described the arrested man as heavyset, in his mid-50s with black hair and a beard, who appeared to be of Middle Eastern descent.
At 7:15 p.m. last night, a highly unusual scene on the Gardiner Expressway raised the suspicions of Sun photo editor Rick VanSickle when he saw an ambulance flanked by two police cars driving east toward the city. VanSickle was between Islington and Royal York at the time and also saw a nondescript car and unmarked silver minivan with police lights parked at the side of the road.
"Normally when I see an ambulance there is no police escort. That's what struck me," he said.
The RCMP is expected to make some details available today at a news conference at the Toronto Congress Centre on Dixon Rd., also an unusual venue for such an announcement.
At the Durham Regional Police Station at Hwy. 2 and Brock Rd., where it was speculated the arrested are being detained, at least three police officers armed with machineguns patrolled the building, which was sealed off with yellow tape.
Scores of police cars, officers and dogs also kept vigil over the the heavily guarded building, keeping media outlets outside.
A convoy of SUVs, unmarked cars and minivans parked at the side of the building also appeared to hold some people.
yes...and how about the Muslim radio station in Youngstown, NY...beaming prayers into Canada....
You are believing that based on what was officially offered to the media. With the WOT official releases are useful tools. But the use of a semi driving over a border that is even more porous than the Southern US border makes staging in Canada for murders in the U.S. an easy operation.
I cannot agree with you more on the Florida schoolbus thing. Sadly, this country's leaders can't get a grip on reality and those investigating that bought into their line of BS about wanting to take English classes. Since when have Arabs or even Mexicans been that eager to learn English that they try to board a clearly marked schoolbus with a bunch of children "thinking that it's going somewhere where they can learn English." As if there aren't a thousand things that somebody that isn't mental would do first otherwise to learn English. Oy!
Sadly, it's gonna be another heartwrenching episode such as Beslan where a community's children are blown to bits, tortured, shot, or otherwise killed or maimed. But hey, our leaders don't give a crap as long as they can get reelected and entrench themselves further into power. God forbid however if one of their kids were involved. One senator's kid is probably worth a thousand of other parents' kids in their mind, eh.
As to the World Cup, the pattern has been not to disrupt major events in the normal "bread and circus" routine of the world lest they actually turn the entire world against them. I.e., it's just as high profile, but too disruptive of the "most important things in peoples' lives," namely entertainment. /s
We'll see though. Muslims seem to be feeling their oats under the notion that the mystical (and farcical) 12th Imam is gonna come and liberate them. Naturally liberation for muslims entails the requisite suppression of freedoms of everyone else in the world that isn't muslim. Another wonderful benefit of the "religion of peace."
One would think that national (and personal) security alonng with preservation of a national way of life would lead the charge here. But is that too logical for liberal mentalities? As well, a good chunk of Canada is not liberal. Just as here, it has its logical concentrations geographically.
This from The Captain`s Quarters:
"... Stephen Taylor is live-blogging the press conference now. They confiscated three tons of ammonium nitrate -- the same fertilizer ingredient that Timothy McVeigh used in the Oklahoma City bombing, only three times as much. Of the seventeen, 12 have been publicly identified, while five are apparently underage. The identified suspects 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.... "
http://www.captainsquartersblog.com/mt/
Those that practice islam, especially radical islam, HATE ALL of us, no matter what label our individual politcal systems place on us. The foolish Cindy Sheehan types refuse to believe that as soon as their usefulness to those seeking to conquer and destroy us is over, and radical islam is in place in all our countries, their stupid heads would be chopped off in a heart beat, while their murderers shouted out praise to their false god.
Of course. But people simply refuse to believe that for their own reasons, unbeknownst yet likely simply an inredulity due to their sheer and utter lack of understanding of human nature after having grown up in one of the easiest lifestyles in the history of the world.
Police have recovered three tonnes of ammonium nitrate fertilizer in the raids. Commissioner McDonell noted that this amount was three times the amount used by Timothy McVeigh to destroy the federal building in Oklahoma City in 1995.
Ammonium nitrate/fuel oil mixtures have occasionally been used for improvised bombs, most infamously in the Oklahoma City bombing by Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols on April 19, 1995.
Scores of officers, many heavily armed, took the suspects into custody at a police station in Pickering, Ont., following the raids.
MORE TO COME
It may be a terrible place to live, as I haven't ever lived there. But as t_skoz says, it's a great place to visit. The CN Tower is wonderful and a phenominal view. It's lakeside which is great. The downtown district is one of the nicest for a city and rivals that of say Chicago and Baltimore. NYC is in a class by itself there.
There are also a ton of things to do within 20 minutes to a couple of hours from there that one simply can't so in most other cities. The locks over in Thorold are awesome. Niagara on the Lake, Canadian side, is very, very nice. There are very nice lake regions north of Toronto by two or three hours.
I knew there was a big presence up there, but that's ridiculous. At least it's optional. Just wait, as with the effort in the Detroit area not too long ago, there will be efforts, perhaps successful ones, to broadcast those damned things publicly to a captive audience. That's when the proverbial push may come to shove. That should be viewed as intolerable.
The Millenium bomber came through the Canadian border. It was mentioned.
The Northern border doesn't represent the same kind of threat that the Southern border does. First, Canada has better control over its borders than does Mexico. For the most part, any would-be terrorist would have to enter via air.
Second, the only land border Canada shares is with the US, unlike Mexico, which shares a border with Guatemala and Belize. The government and police of Canada are not corrupt like Mexico's.
Third, there is not a great wealth disparity between the US and Canada nor are there the same kinds of demographic pressures.
Finally, we have an excellent working relationship with Canadian intelligence and law enforcement officials, which allow us to share data and intelligence information, including lookout lists. In fact, US immigration and customs officials are stationed inside Cananda, so you can clear US Customs inside Canada.
Could it be that Canada is our number 1 trading partner? Nah...couldn't be....
No, it has more to do with the fact that Canada is not a third world country with a corrupt government. It is a member of NATO and the G8.
FYI: Guess who is our number 2 trading partner? Surprise, it is Mexico. According to 2004 fgures [Economist], The US sends 13.9% of its exports to Mexico [compared to 22.4% to Canada] and 11.5% of our imports come from Mexico [compared to 19% from Canada].
The US is Mexico's biggest trading partner by far with 88.7% of its exports going to the US and 67.7% of its imports coming from the US. Canada is in a similar position with 84.6% of its exports going to the US and 72.7% of its imports coming from the US.
The time is coming soon where we shall see who will... and will not... defend western civilization.
To return to the subject at hand though, kudos to the Canadian authorities. A job well done. Of course the press conferences are a feature today. Lots of bi-lingual stuff included. A sense of pride here, in a professional take down. Now to the Canadian judiciary and likely juries, this:
Don't go wobbly on us.
The Toronto Star will advise in due course, ignore them.
Yeah, I realize most of that, generally speaking. Thanks for the details and WILCO!
But it's still a nice place to visit for a day/weekend, IMO.
I definitely wouldn't want to live there anymore than I'd want to live in San Fran, NYS, MD, MA, VT, CA, OR, or WA. But living there and visiting briefly are two different things. I don't like MD, CA, MA, or NY either, but I still enjoy going to Baltimore, San Diego, Boston, or NYC.
Fences and walls on our southern border are nice.
However, terrorists are much more likely to come through our northern border.
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