Free Republic

TORONTO -- SNIPPET: "The so-called Toronto 18 eventually split into two groups after the leaders had a falling out. One thing the groups still had in common was a misdirected paranoia. They worried they were being watched by the authorities, but little did they know two of their trusted confidants were police agents. At one meeting one of the plotters instructed a man who was actually an RCMP agent to take the battery out of his cellphone so their conversation couldn't be intercepted. Another plotter gave an agent a test to see if he was a spy. He passed." SNIPPET:...

A member of a homegrown terrorist group pleaded guilty Friday to participating in a plot to set off truck bombs in front of Canada's main stock exchange and two government buildings.

SNIPPET: "Zakaria Amara, 24, the leader of the group - which planned to detonate truck bombs outside the Toronto offices of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, the Toronto Stock Exchange and an Ontario military base - was sentenced to life in prison on Monday. He will be eligible for parole in 2016 - 10 years from the day of his arrest." SNIPPET: "Another conspirator, Saad Gaya, 22, was sentenced on Monday to 12 years in prison." SNIPPET: "Amin Mohamed Durrani took part in a plot to establish an armed, Al-Qaeda-type terror cell in Toronto "and then to create some sort...

"The powerful online voice of jihad Shadowy cleric revered by disenchanted Muslim youths throughout West cited in Toronto 18 case" CAPTION: "A Facebook page for Anwar al Awlaki has 4,800 fans. He has been cited as an inspiration for extremist plots." FACEBOOK SNIPPET: "In a snowy field near Barrie, a group of young Muslim men listened intently to the eloquent voice emanating from the laptop. Anwar al Awlaki preached in perfect Arabic and flawless English about the need to fight in the name of religion, because the "world is united in fighting Islam." The time for jihad is now, no...

BRAMPTON -- The two scrawny terrorists are unloading bags labeled ammonium nitrate from the back of a delivery truck when one of them looks up and recoils in shock, while his partner backs into a wall and raises his hands in surrender. A four-member police tactical team dressed all in black descends, laying them spread-eagled on the floor of the warehouse and cuffing their hands behind their backs before one of the officers raises his thumb to say mission accomplished. The dramatic arrests of Saad Khalid and Saad Gaya, members of the "Toronto 18" terrorist group that was planning to...

SNIPPET: “Mr. Amara’s paycheques were small. His day job was drudgery. But his schemes were big – very big.”

<p>For almost two years, intelligence services around the world tried to uncover the identity of an Internet hacker who had become a key conduit for al-Qaeda. The savvy, English-speaking, presumably young webmaster taunted his pursuers, calling himself Irhabi -- Terrorist -- 007. He hacked into American university computers, propagandized for the Iraq insurgents led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and taught other online jihadists how to wield their computers for the cause.</p>

Hateful chatter behind the veil Key suspects' wives held radical views, Web postings revealMISSISSAUGA — When it came time to write up the premarital agreement between Zakaria Amara and Nada Farooq, Ms. Farooq briefly considered adding a clause that would allow her to ask for a divorce. She said that Mr. Amara (now accused of being a leader of the alleged terror plot that led to the arrests of 17 Muslim men early this month) had to aspire to take part in jihad. "[And] if he ever refuses a clear opportunity to leave for jihad, then i want the choice...

ITM: The Amara lesson Thursday, October 26, 2006Perhaps the lesson from the recent troubles in Amara when militias took over large parts of the city gives a clear answer and offers Iraqis and the allies a forecast of what the future holds for us should we make the wrong decisions. I think the decision to announce a phased withdrawal of troops (which is now dubbed as a phased handover of security responsibility) was made without putting in consideration the developments on the ground. And I think pressures on the American and British governments accelerated the process in a reactionary...

British troops face return to city they gave back to Iraq By Oliver Poole Iraq Correspondent Last Updated: 1:44am BST 21/10/2006 British troops are on stand-by to move into Amara just two months after handing over the southern Iraqi city to local security forces. The decision was taken after the Shia militia run by the anti-American cleric Moqtada al-Sadr seized control of parts of the city. Street battles between police and his Mahdi Army left 25 people dead. More than 300 Mahdi Army fighters stormed three main police stations on Friday morning and destroyed them with explosives. The men, clad...

Three months after the RCMP began arresting 18 suspects accused of plotting terror attacks in Canada, an investigation by the National Post has uncovered a web of links to Pakistan. Today, in the first of four parts, the role of a Pakistani training camp is revealed.- - - BALAKOT, Pakistan - A worn footpath climbs from the Kaghan Valley highway into the lush mountains above the River Kunar, on Kashmir's western frontier. The locals all know where it leads. An hour's walk up the steep trail there is a training camp built by Islamic militants called Madrassa Syed Ahmed Shaheed...

AMARA, Iraq (AFP) - At least five Iraqis were killed and a British soldier wounded when a firefight broke out between Mehdi militia gunmen and British troops in the southern town of Amara, police have reported. "Five people were killed, including one woman and 15 were wounded," said Lieutenant Ali Aziz of the Amara police, adding that the gunmen were members of the Mehdi militia of firebrand Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. British military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Richard Eaton confirmed there was a clash but declined to speculate on the identity of the attackers or the number of casualties. "There were...

THEY called it “Spectre baiting”. Sergeant Craig Brodie, 33, sensed his men’s nervousness in the grim little joke as their Warrior armoured vehicle crawled down a darkened street in the southern Iraqi city of Amara. They were keyed up for action and concentrating for all they were worth.Lurking in the shadows ahead was a group of rebel gunmen from the Mahdi army of Moqtada al-Sadr, the radical Shi’ite cleric. Brodie’s job was to lure them into the open so an AC-130 Spectre gunship overhead could destroy them with its cannons and howitzers. The rebels would show themselves only if they...

mara. Shiite rebels from the Mehdi’s Army of radical clerik Muqtada Sadr have captured the central prison in the city of Amara, South Iraq, and released all prisoners, News Ru announced, referring to the Qatar information agency. According to witnesses, the Shiite rebels opened fire at local police, guarding the building of the prison and then they entered inside. Among the released prisoners there were detainees accused of using arms against coalition forces and the police, RIA Novosti announced.

BAGHDAD, Iraq, April 4 — A coordinated Shiite militia uprising against the American-led occupation rippled across Iraq on Sunday, reaching into Baghdad and the sprawling Shiite slum of Sadr City on the capital's outskirts and roiling the holy city of Najaf and at least two other cities in southern Iraq. Seven American soldiers were killed in Sadr City, one of the worst single losses for the American forces in any firefight since Baghdad was captured a year ago. An Iraqi health official in Najaf said 24 people had been killed and about 200 wounded in clashes that ensued when armed...