2 Arrested in Canada Planned to Attack Train, Police Say
OTTAWA — The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said that they had arrested two men on Monday who had been planning to derail a passenger train.
But they offered few details of the plot or their evidence at a news conference in Toronto called to announce the arrests.
Assistant Commissioner James Malizia said that the two suspects had received “direction and guidance” from “Al Qaeda elements living in Iran,” but that there was no evidence that the effort was sponsored by the government of Iran.
He declined to explain how the link to Al Qaeda had been made.
The two suspects were identified as Chiheb Esseghaier, 35, who has been living in Toronto, and Raed Jaser, 30, who has been living in Montreal. The police said they were not Canadian citizens, but declined to identify their nationalities or to describe their immigration status in Canada.
Chief Superintendent Jennifer Strachan said that the two men watched trains in and around Toronto and were plotting to attack a train operated by Via Rail Canada, the government-owned rail system, within Canada.
The police emphasized that the public was never in “imminent danger.” They said that the two suspects had been under constant observation and that contingency plans had been made.
The police also executed search warrants at several locations in Toronto and Montreal on Monday afternoon.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/23/world/....html?_r=0 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
