Plot to behead Stephen Harper (Canada PM) and storm Canadian Parliament building

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

A British born Muslim student found guilty of Islamist terrorism offences was a "wannabe suicide bomber" who police believe could have been planning to take part in alleged al-Qa'eda attacks in Canada.

Mohammed Atif Siddique, 21, who has been described as Scotland's first homegrown terrorist, provided instruction on weapons and booby-trap bomb making over the internet, and showed videos of beheadings and suicide bombers to fellow students at the Glasgow Metropolitan College.

...

He was convicted of possessing and distributing terrorist material through websites and could face up to 15 years in jail when he is sentenced next month.

Following the verdict it can be revealed that Siddique was detained at Glasgow airport last April amid fears that he was might have been on his way to Canada via Pakistan to join alleged Islamic extremists in Ontario.

...

The alleged Canadian plot included detonating truck bombs, blowing up shopping malls and storming the Canadian Broadcast Centre and the parliament building.

The alleged plotters are also accused of planning to behead the prime minister Stephen Harper and other leaders.

Twelve men and five teenage boys are in custody in connection with the plot.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml.../nterror317.xml

[Caladan 19]

This sounds like another one for the Glasgow Special Education Branch of al-Qaeda. I am left to wonder whether his plot was anything more than a stupid fantasy, and if 'possessing and distributing terrorist materials' meant 'linked to a webpage.'

[almaty 19]

#######?????????????????????????????? why canada?????????????

[Sinergy 3]

cartman told him to

on a serious note: ####### WHY CANADA???????????????

[DeadPoolX 9]

Well, I'm glad they caught the terrorist -- if for no other reason that selfish ones. My fiancee's country is Canada, and if their Prime Minister was assassinated, I have a strong feeling that Canada would go on "red alert." The U.S. would probably step up it's security levels as well to correspond in preparation for an imminent threat. All in all, that'd could've been bad news for both of us in the near and far future. So I'm quite happy it didn't happen.

I'm not quite certain why Islamic terrorists would target Canada, however. True, the Canadian military is in Afghanistan, but they're not in Iraq (which seems to be the real sore spot for most in the Muslim world). Of course, it might just be enough that Canada and the U.S. are neighbors and western countries, so that makes "us all evil" in the eyes of Islamic terror cells.

Many people also tend to think there's virtually no difference between Canada and the United States (some even going so far as to refer to Canada as "America Lite"). So maybe that's one possible reason. The terrorists figured it didn't really matter which country they hit.

The last possible reason I can think of is Harper himself. I don't know much about him. He's not in the news (at least the international news) as much as Bush and so I don't know what his stance on many issues are or his voting record is like. Perhaps the terrorists had a particular beef with him?

Oh well. I suppose this just goes to prove that, in the end, not all of the crazy people inhabit the U.S. after all.

Edited September 17, 2007 by DeadPoolX

[Emancipation 2]

He's not the first one friends..

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2006/06/06/...ts-hearing.html

Suspect accused of wanting to behead PM, lawyer claims

Last Updated: Tuesday, June 6, 2006 | 1:33 PM ET

CBC News

One of the suspects in an alleged bomb plot in Ontario is accused of plotting to storm Parliament, behead the prime minister and attack a number of sites, including the CBC building in Toronto, his lawyer says.

Lawyer Gary Batasar, who represents Steven Chand, also known as Abdul Shakur, made the comments on Tuesday after a court appearance in Brampton, Ont., for 15 of 17 suspects arrested under Canada's Anti-terrorism Act on the weekend.

Gary Batasar, lawyer for Steven Vikash Chand, said he was given an eight-page synopsis of the allegations.

(CBC)

"My client's alleged to have been part of a plot to blow up Parliament Buildings in Canada, storm the CBC, take over the CBC, as well as, among other things, behead the prime minister," Batasar said.

Batasar said he was given an eight-page synopsis of the allegations, including storming Parliament, blowing up some of the buildings and taking politicians hostage to demand the withdrawal of Canadian troops in Afghanistan.

If the demands were not met, it is alleged, the hostages would be beheaded. The documents allege that Chand, 25, personally wanted to behead Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

Police allege the accused — 12 adults and five youths — were inspired by al-Qaeda and planned to make bombs to attack targets in Ontario. None of the allegations has been proven in court.

Bail hearings postponed

Defence lawyers asked that the bail hearings be postponed, saying they did not have enough time to prepare and had not seen the evidence against their clients.

The judge granted their requests, rescheduling most of the bail hearings to June 12, and the suspects were remanded into custody.

The lawyers also complained about a number of restrictions placed on their clients. They are in solitary confinement, under 24-hour surveillance and have been denied access to family members.

Lawyer Donald McLeod said he and his colleagues have only been able to speak to their clients through Plexiglas and want private visits with them.

The defence lawyers also alleged that clients' rights were being violated because a guard in full riot gear was always present when a lawyer held a privileged conversation with a client.

They demanded the situation be changed or said they would go to court on June 12 to get a court order to be allowed to communicate with their clients in private.

Armed guards patrol courthouse

As many as 400 police officers and security officials were involved in the series of raids in southern Ontario that led to the arrests on June 2 and June 3, in the largest operation carried out under the Anti-terrorism Act.

The suspects arrived at the courthouse on Tuesday in unmarked police vehicles, under the watchful eye of armed guards patrolling the area. They were led inside the courtroom shackled together in groups of four, wearing prison-issued white T-shirts and grey pants.

Security was tight but appeared somewhat scaled back compared with the first court appearance of the suspects on Saturday.

During that appearance, snipers could be seen on rooftops and heavily armed police officers were posted inside and outside the courtrooms.

Scores of media from both Canada and the United States lined up at the courthouse Tuesday to secure a spot inside. Family members of the suspects were met by throngs of reporters as they entered.

Charges against suspects

All the adult suspects face terrorism-related charges:

The 12 men have been charged with knowingly participating, directly or indirectly, in the activity of a terrorist group.

Those charges relate to activities in Mississauga, Ont., Toronto and the Township of Ramara, which is located about 150 kilometres north of Toronto.

On Monday, six of the men were also charged with planning to cause a deadly explosion.

Three of the suspects have been charged with importing firearms and prohibited ammunition, and supplying prohibited weapons.

Ten of the men are charged with engaging in terrorism-related training. Residents in Ramara reported hearing gunshots from an area where men were seen dressed in camouflage gear.