2006 Ontario terrorism plot
The 2006 Ontario terrorism case was the plotting of a series of attacks against targets in Southern Ontario, Canada, and the June 2, 2006 counter-terrorism raids in and around the Greater Toronto Area that resulted in the arrest of 14 adults and 4 youths.
These individuals have been characterized as having been inspired by al-Qaeda.
They were accused of planning to detonate truck bombs, to open fire in a crowded area, and to storm the Canadian Broadcasting Centre, the Parliament of Canada building, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service headquarters, and the parliamentary Peace Tower to take hostages and to behead the Prime Minister and other leaders.
Following the jury trial in June 2010, a comprehensive presentation of the case and the evidence obtained from court exhibits previously restricted was given by Isabel Teotonio of the Toronto Star. It contained the details on guilty pleas, convictions, and stayed/dismissed charges. The Ontario Court of Appeal released their decision on December 17, 2010.
Seven adults pleaded guilty, including the two ringleaders—Fahim Ahmad, who was sentenced to 16 years, and Zakaria Amara, who received a life sentence and initially had his Canadian citizenship revoked but later restored following the passage of Bill C-6. The remaining five received sentences ranging from seven to 20 years. A further three adults and one youth were convicted at trial; the youth was sentenced to 2.5 years while the adults received sentences of 6.5 years, ten years, and life imprisonment. Four adults and two youths were released after the charges against them were stayed and one youth had his charges dismissed.
Pre-arrest events
Infiltration
On November 27, 2005, Mubin Shaikh met with members of the terrorist group at an information meeting at a banquet hall regarding the use of security certificates in Canada, and began his infiltration of the group. He was told that they had planned a training camp near Orillia. They asked Shaikh if he would join them and teach them how to use a gun, since he had mentioned his military and martial arts training, and shown them his Possession and Acquisition Licence.Orillia training camp
The trip by the group, ages 15–42, was to a wooded area near Orillia, Ontario, from December 18–31, 2005. It was monitored by more than 200 police officers.Authorities say that "the internet played a large role in the suspects' planning". Six months prior to the planned attack, the group watched a video over the internet of Anwar al Awlaki preaching about the need for jihad.
The ringleader gave sermons comparing the Canadian countryside to Chechnya, and calling for victory over "Rome", which prosecutors alleged was a reference to Canada. "Whether we get arrested, killed, or tortured, our mission is greater than just individuals," he said. He also said: "We're not officially al-Qaida but we share their principles and methods" around a campfire.
In 2008, a video made at the camp documenting their actions was made public, after the media obtained them through the British trial of Aabid Khan, thus working around the publication ban that forbade them from showing evidence from the Canadian trials. The home video showed masked men in winter camouflage marching through the snow in an Ontario forest, shouting "Allahu Akbar"—or "God is Great"—while waving a black flag. The video was obtained by the NEFA Foundation.
The video also showed the men daring each other to jump over campfires, and driving in a Canadian Tire parking lot late at night, alternatively described as "evasive driving maneuvers" or simply having fun driving doughnuts on the slippery ice. The film had been dubbed with Nasheed music, and the informant admitted that he had "choreographed" some of the scenes, arranging the campers to perform for the camera in a militant fashion upon the instruction of Zakaria Amara who did the filming. The youths frequented the local coffee shop, still dressed in their fatigues.
Shaikh, the police agent, was accused by the defence of having played a "key role" in setting up and running the trip, purchasing many of the supplies used, and being the "military trainer" at the camp. Shaikh gave firearms lessons to the accused, but at their request purchased a rifle and ammunition for the group. Shaikh showed the "campers" how to fire an illegal 9 mm handgun and ammunition which belonged to Faheem Ahmad. He also gave "exhortational sermons on Jihad", but described the camp itself as hapless.
Rockwood training camp
Held over two days in May 2006 at the Rockwood Conservation Area, the second camping trip, consisting of 10 people, came after members complained about fearing that police would arrest them for having known two Americans who had just been arrested.A youth, who cannot be named, appeared in videos with the rest of the group, meant to mimic Jihadist beheading videos coming out of the Invasion of Iraq, sitting in front of a flag, and flanked by two hunting knives. During the filming, the leader kept trying to effect giggles from the adolescents, who were trying "to look tough" for the "mock" video.
Targets
The group was preparing a large-scale terrorist attack in southern Ontario. They planned to detonate truck bombs in at least three locations, and open fire in a crowded area. They also made plans to storm various buildings such as the Canadian Broadcasting Centre and the Canadian Parliament building, and take hostages. Law enforcement authorities identified other targets, including the CSIS headquarters, the Parliamentary Buildings' Peace Tower, and power grids.According to one of the suspect's lawyers, they were also accused of planning to "behead the Prime Minister", Stephen Harper, and other leaders.
Arrests, reaction, and court proceedings
Arrests
The raids were carried out by a Canadian inter-agency task force, the Integrated National Security Enforcement Team, which coordinated the activities of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the CSIS, the Ontario Provincial Police, and other police forces, as the operation was spread across several different jurisdictions in southern Ontario, in the area north of Toronto.The police stated that one of the arrested men ordered three metric tonnes of ammonium nitrate fertilizer, a potentially powerful ingredient often used as quarry and mining explosives. This weight has widely been compared to the amount of ammonium nitrate used in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing in the United States. The official account estimates the ammonium nitrate in the Oklahoma City bomb at 2,000 pounds, or about 0.9 metric tonnes. There was not any imminent danger to the public, as a harmless substance was substituted for the ordered ammonium nitrate and delivered to the men by INSET officers in a sting operation.
The RCMP said that the CSIS had been monitoring the individuals since 2004, later joined by the RCMP. The suspects, all adherents to a radical form of Islam, were alleged by CSIS to have been inspired by al-Qaeda. A direct connection seems unlikely.
The investigation started with intelligence officials monitoring Internet chat sites. The suspects were charged under the anti-terrorism legislation passed by Canadian parliament in December 2001 in response to the September 11 attacks in the US.
Two men, Yasim Abdi Mohamed and Ali Dirie, were already serving a two-year prison sentence for trying to smuggle a pair of handguns across the Peace Bridge a year earlier, for "personal protection" for themselves since they had worked as designer clothing re-sellers in seedy neighborhoods. They had their charges upgraded to "importing weapons for terrorist purposes" after it was revealed that their third handgun had been meant to repay Ahmad who had used his credit card to pay for their rental car.
Suspects of the Toronto 18
- Fahim Ahmad, 21, Toronto, born in Afghanistan and came to Canada at age 10; pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 16 years. Denied parole on June 10, 2014. Denied statutory release on August 26, 2015. Sentence ended on January 24, 2018.
- Zakaria Amara, 20, Mississauga, born in Jordan and came to Canada at age 12; pleaded guilty and received a life sentence without the possibility of parole for 10 years. Denied parole on June 2, 2016. Granted day parole in November 2022.
- Shareef Abdelhaleem, 30, Mississauga, born in Egypt and came to Canada at age 10; convicted at trial and received a life sentence without the possibility of parole for 10 years. Granted day parole in January 2021. Granted full parole in June 2023.
- Saad Khalid, 19, Mississauga, born in Saudi Arabia of Pakistani descent and came to Canada at age 9; pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 20 years. Denied parole on March 4, 2016. Statutory release was May 4, 2018.
- Saad Gaya, 18, Mississauga, born in Canada of Pakistani descent; pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 18 years. Granted day parole on December 30, 2015. Statutory release was in January 2017.
- Amin Durrani, 19, Toronto, born in Pakistan and came to Canada at age 12; pleaded guilty on January 20, 2010 and was sentenced to 7.5 years and released after being credited with time served for nearly 3 years and 8 months of pre-trial custody.
- Jahmaal James, 23, Toronto, born in Canada, family immigrated from the West Indies; pleaded guilty on February 26, 2010 and was sentenced to 7 years and 7 months and released after 1 day after being credited with 3 years and 9 months of pre-trial custody.
- Steven Chand, 25, Toronto, born in Canada, family immigrated from Fiji, a recent convert to Islam and a former Canadian soldier; convicted at trial and was sentenced to 10 years. Released on July 6, 2011.
- Ali Dirie, 22, Toronto, born in Somalia and came to Canada at age 7; pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 7 years. Released in October 2011 and left Canada in 2012 and reportedly died in 2013 fighting in the Syrian Civil War.
- Asad Ansari, 21, Mississauga, born in Pakistan and moved to Saudi Arabia at 7 months old and came to Canada at age 12; convicted at trial and was sentenced on October 4, 2010 to 6 years and 5 months and released after 1 day after being credited with 3 years and 3 months of pre-trial custody.
- Qayyum Abdul Jamal, 43, Mississauga, born in Pakistan and came to Canada as an adult, an active member of the mosque who frequently led prayers; released after charges against him were stayed.
- Yasim Abdi Mohamed, 24, Toronto, born in Somalia and came to Canada at age 5; released after the charges against him were stayed.
- Ahmad Mustafa Ghany, 21, Mississauga, born in Canada, family immigrated from Trinidad and Tobago; released after the charges against him were stayed.
- Ibrahim Aboud, 19, Mississauga, born in Iraq and came to Canada in his mid-teens; released after the charges against him were stayed.
Six of the 18 men arrested have ties to the Al Rahman Islamic Center near Toronto, a Sunni mosque.
Another two of those arrested were already serving time in a Kingston, Ontario, prison on weapons possession charges. According to the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation two other men, Syed Ahmed and Ehsanul Sadequee, who were arrested in Georgia in the United States on terrorism charges, are connected to the case as well.
John Thompson, president of the Mackenzie Institute, a Toronto think tank, summarized the young suspects stating "These are kids at a transition, between Islamic society and Western society. A lot of people will get militarized if they're unsure of their own identity. They're just young and stupid. If you're 17, bored, restless, you want to meet girls – hey, be a radical." "The cops have a nickname for it – the jihad generation," says Thompson.