With the recent arrest of a Pakistani national in Quebec who allegedly intended to kill Jews in New York City, Canada has been rocked in a short time by two terrorist plots with immigration system ramifications. Last year also saw several terrorism-related events.
In the latest incident, Pakistani Muhammad Shahzeb Khan was
arrested on Sept. 4 by the RCMP in Ormstown, Que., a short distance from the U.S. border and New York state. The government said on Sept. 10 that Khan came to Canada on a student visa.
The FBI was the lead on the investigation that involved an undercover operation. The U.S. Department of Justice
said Khan was planning a mass shooting with automatic and semi-automatic weapons against a Jewish centre in Brooklyn, New York, in support of the ISIS terrorist group.
U.S. authorities said Khan wanted his attack to coincide with a key event for Jews, such as the Oct. 7 one-year anniversary of the Hamas attack on Israel, or Oct. 11 during the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur.
Khan has been charged in the United States with one count of attempting to provide material support and resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization. He could serve up to 20 years in prison if found guilty.
Khan now faces extradition and will appear before the Superior Court of Justice in Montreal on Sept. 13.
Jewish advocacy group B'nai Brith Canada, in reaction to Khan’s arrest,
expressed concern about how he could have been allowed to enter Canada.
“Our government must act immediately to prevent the entry into Canada of those who harbour radical views and to prevent the further radicalization of its citizens,” the group said, adding that “Canada is becoming a breeding ground for terrorists.”
Immigration Minister Marc Miller said he will
appear before the House of Commons public safety committee on Sept. 19 to discuss immigration issues related to the terror plot and
another planned attack involving Ahmed Eldidi and his son Mostafa Eldidi in Toronto.
The committee study was spurred by the July arrests of the Eldidis in Richmond Hill, Ont., with the RCMP alleging they were in the “advanced stages of planning a serious, violent attack in Toronto.” The pair has also been linked to ISIS.
A Canada Border Services Agency executive
told the committee in late August that the agency recently found the 2015 ISIS propaganda video which features Ahmed Eldidi dismembering a prisoner with a sword.
Ahmed Eldidi
first came to Canada on a visitor visa in 2018 and later made an asylum claim. He successfully passed various screening steps from Immigration Canada and its security partners and eventually obtained his Canadian citizenship in May 2024.
Mostafa Eldidi crossed into Canada from the United States in 2020 and claimed asylum. He was granted refugee status in 2022.
The case is covered by a publication ban, hence few details about it have been released.
Another alleged
foiled plot in Ottawa in late 2023 is also covered by a publication ban and even less information has been released given that the accused are minors.
What is known is that the plot was directed “against Jewish persons,” the RCMP says. One youth was arrested in December 2023 and charged with several terrorism-related offences. In
February this year, two new charges were laid against the accused and a second young person was charged as a co-conspirator.
Both youths are charged with conspiring to commit murder “for the benefit of, at the direction of or in association with a terrorist group.”
In another case, Zakarya Rida Hussein pleaded guilty in December 2023 to one count of facilitating terrorist activity. The RCMP had
arrested and charged the Calgary man with four terrorism-related offences in June 2023.
Hussein admitted to sharing an ISIS recruitment video on social media where he said his mission would begin during Pride month. Three minors from Calgary were arrested in the
same national security investigation in 2023.
All of the above-mentioned terrorist plots were foiled, except for one that
occurred in April 2023. Police arrested Abdul Aziz Kawam in Surrey, B.C., over assaults, with the allegation they were carried out on behalf of ISIS. Kawaz is
accused of slashing a man in the throat with a kitchen knife on public transit, and faces four terrorism-related charges.
The Canadian Press contributed to this report.
Editor’s note: This article was updated to confirm terrorism suspect Muhammad Shahzeb Khan’s status in Canada after the government officially disclosed that information on Sept. 10.
