http://www.canada.com/windsor/windsorstar/news/story.html? id=23b57ac7-7dba-4029-9c8f-f9f3bc3ffe3b
Sleeper cell in Canada, terrorist claims Andrew Duffy CanWest News Service Thursday, July 14, 2005 OTTAWA - One piece of intelligence to support Public Safety Minister Anne McLellan's recent warning that Canada may already be in the crosshairs of terrorist groups comes from Morocco. On May 16, 2003, five bombs exploded in the Moroccan capital of Casablanca, killing 45 people. An organization known as the Moroccan Combatant Group was blamed for the attacks, and subsequently, for engineering a March 11, 2004, terror attack in Madrid, in which 10 bombs shredded rush hour trains, killing 191 people. According to recent reports, one of the group's captured leaders, Nouredine Nfia, has told Moroccan authorities the organization had sleeper cells prepared to mount synchronized attacks in Britain, France, Italy, Belgium and Canada. Nfia allegedly told Moroccan authorities that agents were in place in Ottawa and Montreal. Canadian Security Intelligence Service spokeswoman Barbara Campion refused to disclose whether it has more detailed information from Nfia, or whether that information has been forwarded to McLellan. Campion said only that a number of terrorist groups, including groups that support al-Qaida, "clearly have a presence in Canada." McLellan spokesman Alex Swann similarly refused comment on the recent report in the New York Times. Swann noted, however, that the Moroccan Combatant Group has had its assets frozen in Canada after being listed as a terrorist entity by the United Nations. Carleton University professor Martin Rudner, director of the Centre for Security and Defence Studies, said the Moroccan group, an affiliate of al-Qaida, is now the prime focus of the Spanish government's investigation into the Madrid bombings. "There's no question that there's a North African and Moroccan 'problem,'" he said The concern in European security circles, Rudner said, is Moroccan extremists are being trained in terror tactics under the tutelage of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the Jordanian-born head of al-Qaida in Iraq, and applying them when they return home to North Africa and Europe. It follows, he said, that similar concerns exist in Canada, and particularly in Montreal, which plays host to a large North African community. "We're a haven," Rudner said. The only al-Qaida cell confirmed to be operational in Canada was based in Montreal in the late 1990s. Its members, most of whom came from North Africa, included Ahmed Ressam, an Algerian, who was convicted in April 2001 of trying to smuggle explosives into the U.S. to blow up Los Angeles International Airport. The information attributed to Nfia first surfaced last year in the Moroccan newspaper, Le Maroc. It reported that Nfia, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison for his role in the Casablanca bombings, had offered authorities a detailed picture of the workings of the Moroccan Combatants Group. Nfia allegedly told Moroccan officials that the group had sleeper cells in Britain, Belgium, France, Italy and Canada. According to the newspaper, Nfia identified the Ottawa sleeper only as "Abdeslam the Canadian." The Montreal sleeper agent was identified as Adil Charkaoui, a Montreal university student and Moroccan immigrant who was arrested in May 2003 on the strength of a national security certificate. According to information supplied by Nfia, and published by Le Maroc, Charkaoui was in charge of logistics for the Canadian cell. Charkaoui was released on bail in February under strict conditions pending the conclusion of the Federal Court hearing that is to decide whether he poses a security threat to Canada. Charkaoui's Montreal relatives have denounced allegations made by Nfia, suggesting that they were elicited by the use of torture as "lies." According to documents filed in the case, CSIS contends Charkaoui trained at an al-Qaida camp in Afghanistan and formed part of an al- Qaida-affiliated sleeper cell in Canada. Charkaoui, 31, says he travelled to Pakistan for five months in 1998 to study religion at a Karachi religious school. He has denied any connection to terrorist groups. The information reportedly offered by Nfia represents a rare piece of intelligence since it specifically cites Canada as a potential target, adding credence to recent warnings issued by federal officials. "I think we have, for too long, thought that these are things that happened somewhere else," said McLellan. "We need to start talking about the fact that we all need to be prepared for all possibilities." Canada has been characterized as the fifth most important "Christian Terrorist" target in an Arabic al-Qaida training manual after the U.S., Britain, Spain and Australia. Canada was also mentioned by Osama bin Laden in a recording attributed to him in 2002 when he castigated Britain, France, Italy, Germany, Canada and Australia for joining U.S. forces in attacking Afghanistan. -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: [email protected] Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. 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