India-born among 3 charged with al-Qaeda bomb plot in Canada

Bal Krishna
Toronto, Aug 27 (PTI) An India-born man and a
Pakistani contestant of Canada's version of "American Idol"
were among three people arrested as part of a major al-Qaeda
terror plot to bomb targets within and outside the country.
The three suspected homegrown terrorists arrested over
the past two days — two in Ottawa and one in London — have
been charged in connection with a plot with links to senior
al-Qaeda figures in the Afghanistan-Pakistan border region.
Misbahuddin Ahmed, believed to be born in India, and
Hiva Mohammad Alizadeh -- both from Ottawa -- and Khurram Syed
Sher, of London, were accused of conspiring with three others
— James Lara, Rizgar Alizadeh and Zakaria Mamosta — in a
terror plot police traced back to Pakistan, Iran and Dubai.
Hiva Alizadeh, 30, and Ahmed, 26, appeared in court
yesterday after their arrests on Wednesday in Ottawa under the
project codenamed "Operation Samosa".
The trio were charged with conspiring to build bombs
for attacks in Canada and raise money to fund IED attacks on
Canadian troops in Afghanistan.
Police refused to identify the targets of the alleged
terrorists, saying that information would come out in court.
"The arrests have prevented the gathering of bombs and
the execution of one or many terrorist attacks," said Royal
Canadian Mounted Police Chief Superintendent Serge Therriault.
"This group posed a real and serious threat to the
citizens of the national capital region and Canada's national
security," Therriault said.
Police said the accused had IED parts, including more
than 50 circuit boards that could be used to remotely detonate
bombs, but wouldn't say if the group had explosives.
Robert Farrell, a former Canadian diplomat who had
rented his house to Ahmed, was quoted as saying that Ahmed was
born in India, but had lived for a time in Saudi Arabia.
Ahmed, who works as an X-ray technician at the Ottawa
Hospital, rented the home about a year ago, after responding
to an ad Farrell had placed on an online rental site.
Coalition sources in Kandahar say they are aware that
IED components, rocket propelled grenades, ammunition and
landmines coming from Iran have found their way to insurgents
in Afghanistan.
Third suspect Sher is believed to be arrested in
southwestern Ontario where he recently moved. He is believed
to be a doctor who graduated from McGill University medical
school in 2005.
The website for the College of Physicians and Surgeons
of Ontario lists Sher as practising at the Thomas Elgin
General Hospital in the Department of Anatomical Pathology.
Pakistan-origin Sher appeared on the reality show
"Canadian Idol" in 2008 singing a comical version of Avril
Lavigne's "Complicated", complete with dance moves that
include a moonwalk.

In 2006, Sher was in Pakistan during the relief
efforts after an earthquake in Kashmir.
The arrests follow a two-year police investigation
into what is believed to be a bomb plot with a yet-to-be
determined target.
The ringleader is believed to have trained in the
Pakistan and Afghanistan region, according to the National
Post.
The arrests were made on Wednesday as one of the
suspects was preparing to travel abroad.
Speaking in Tuktoyaktuk, North Western Territories,
Prime Minister Stephen Harper said it was "not my place" to
comment on the specifics of police investigations.
However, he added, "Unfortunately, this incident does
serve to remind us that Canada does face some very real
threats in the troubled world in which we live".
Harper said terror networks threatening western
nations have a global reach.
"They exist not only in remote countries but through
globalisation and the Internet, they have links in our country
and all through the world,"" he said.
Public Safety Minister Vic Toews said, "Canada is not
immune and that’s why Canada must remain vigilant." PTI BK
AHM