Saskatchewan Federation of Police Officers 73 FOILED THREAT IN STRATHROY, ONTARIO SHOWS LIMITS OF CONTROLLING ASPIRING TERRORISTS Intelligence Group, which tracks extremist online activities. The RCMP had been alerted on Wednesday by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation that a masked man had made a martyrdom video and was expected to strike in Canada within 72 hours. The tip came in at about 8:30 a.m., and by 11 a.m., Canadian authorities determined that it was Mr. Driver. Brenda Carreiro, owner of the company Leo’s Taxi, in Strathroy, told The Globe and Mail that Mr. Driver had asked to be taken to Citi Plaza, a mall in downtown London, 40 minutes away. Assistant Commissioner Strachan said investigators have not yet determined the target of the alleged plot. Citi Plaza is not the main mall in London, but it is located near the city’s Via Rail train station and the Greyhound bus terminal. Transit agencies in Toronto and Vancouver have confirmed that they were warned of a security threat just before Wednesday’s police operation. Assistant Commissioner Strachan said police had taken position around Mr. Driver’s house at about 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, but they had not expected that he would call a taxi. Ms. Carreiro said that as Mr. Driver got into the back seat of the cab, he said that he wanted to go to Citi Plaza in London. “The driver said he started to reverse and heard a bunch of gunshots, and [someone yelled], ‘Just get out of the car and lay on the ground,’ ” Ms. Carreiro said. Assistant Commissioner Strachan said Mr. Driver detonated an explosive device that he had with him. Photographs released by the RCMP show that the back seat was shredded by the blast. The taxi driver, who suffered minor injuries, told The Globe that he didn’t remember the explosion, only the sound of gunshots. He declined to comment further. Mr. Driver’s father, Wayne, told the National Post that “our worst nightmare has come true. As sad and shocked as I am, it doesn’t surprise me that it has come to this. Aaron was a good kid who went down a dark path and couldn’t find the light again,” he said. Aaron Driver was known for making socialmedia posts supporting the Islamic State, using aliases such as Harun Abdurahman. In addition, the RCMP said on Thursday, he had been in touch with several jihadis and terror suspects. Deputy Commissioner Cabana said Mr. Driver was in “fairly constant” contact with a British youth later arrested for his role in a plot targeting Anzac Day celebrations in Australia. In May, 2015, Mr. Driver exchanged encrypted messages with two IS jihadis from Britain, Reyaad Khan and Junaid Hussain, who were later killed in a drone strike in Syria. He also was in touch through Twitter with Elton Simpson, one of the gunmen in an attack on a Garland, Tex., exhibit of cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed. In the martyrdom video, which was shown by the RCMP, the masked man said Canada had received many warnings and could not escape retribution for fighting IS. “There’s a fire burning in the chest of every Muslim and that fire can be cooled only by the spilling of your blood,” the man said in the video. ...continued continued...
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTM0NTk1OA==