OttawaA dozen Canadians are in al-Qaeda training camps in Pakistan preparing to mount terror missions in Canada, The Otawa Citizen newspaper reported Friday. The paper while quoting the Hong Kong-based Asia Times Online reported that well-placed Taliban sources say a group of Canadian militants is receiving training in al-Qaeda camps in North Waziristan for terror attacks in Canada.
Nobody took that seriously until the arrest of the German citizen in Pakistan which essentially exposed that whole western Jihadi network was there, the paper reported.
Arif Wazir, described in the Asia Times Online report as a local militant in North Waziristan, was quoted as saying that 12 Canadian men departed for Afghanistan last February and after nine months there, al-Qaeda dispatched them to Darpakhel area of North Waziristan in November.
In Afghanistan, they received basic Jihadi training, while currently they are busy doing some special courses, the paper quoted Wazir as saying. Their main learning is how to use sophisticated weapons and how to connect with local smuggling networks in North America.
They are also learning how to use ordinary material like sugar and basic chemicals to make powerful explosives. These militants will then return to their country to execute al-Qaedas plan of targeting big cities in Canada, the militant said.
According to the paper, the Canadians joined the Egyptian militant organisation Jihad al-Islami (JAI), which helped them reach Afghanistan. The 30-year-old Canadian head of the group, they say, converted to Islam in 2007, sports a golden beard, and goes by the alias Abu Shahid.
Quoting Taliban sources, the paper also said the 12 will remain in the tribal belt until it is felt that they are sufficiently trained to successfully carry out terror activities in Canada. Shahid apparently is confident he can recruit more Canadians.INP
12 Canadians taking militant training in Pakistan: Report
Nobody took that seriously until the arrest of the German citizen in Pakistan which essentially exposed that whole western Jihadi network was there, the paper reported.
Arif Wazir, described in the Asia Times Online report as a local militant in North Waziristan, was quoted as saying that 12 Canadian men departed for Afghanistan last February and after nine months there, al-Qaeda dispatched them to Darpakhel area of North Waziristan in November.
In Afghanistan, they received basic Jihadi training, while currently they are busy doing some special courses, the paper quoted Wazir as saying. Their main learning is how to use sophisticated weapons and how to connect with local smuggling networks in North America.
They are also learning how to use ordinary material like sugar and basic chemicals to make powerful explosives. These militants will then return to their country to execute al-Qaedas plan of targeting big cities in Canada, the militant said.
According to the paper, the Canadians joined the Egyptian militant organisation Jihad al-Islami (JAI), which helped them reach Afghanistan. The 30-year-old Canadian head of the group, they say, converted to Islam in 2007, sports a golden beard, and goes by the alias Abu Shahid.
Quoting Taliban sources, the paper also said the 12 will remain in the tribal belt until it is felt that they are sufficiently trained to successfully carry out terror activities in Canada. Shahid apparently is confident he can recruit more Canadians.INP
12 Canadians taking militant training in Pakistan: Report
