National Post (National Edition)
ATTACKERS’ LINKS TO CANADA PROBED
RCMP checking if terrorists had help from Canada
The RCMP is investigating whether two Canadians suspected of attacking a gas plant in eastern Algeria two months ago received assistance from associates in Canada.
After confirming a second suspected terrorist killed during the four-day siege was a Canadian citizen, police are now probing whether the men were aided by co-conspirators.
The investigation is examining those who may have knowingly provided financing or facilitated their travel, both of which would be illegal and could result in terrorism charges.
But police were saying little about the case. They have not released the men’s names or indicated whether they were Canadian-born or had emigrated from North Africa or elsewhere.
“Our investigation into this matter continues and no further information will be given at this time,” said Sgt. Greg Cox, the RCMP’s acting director of media relations.
About three dozen armed Islamists led by al-Qaedalinked Mokhtar Belmokhtar stormed the In Amenas gas plant on Jan. 16. They held hundreds of workers hostage and executed several of them.
Algerian officials said the group planned the operation in Mali before crossing into Algeria from Libya. All but three of the terrorists were eventually killed by Algerian troops. Almost 40 foreign workers died.
The RCMP sent a Disaster Victim Identification team to Algeria following the attack. Last Monday, one of the alleged attackers was positively identified as a Canadian, and a second was identified on Saturday.
“This evening, the RCMP is confirming a second Canadian has been identified from human remains of alleged terrorists in the attack at the gas plant,” Sgt. Cox said this weekend.
Reports of Canadian involvement began circulating during the attack. Algerian Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal later said a Canadian had co-ordinated the assault.
Witnesses also told reporters: the ringleader had introduced one of the attackers as a Canadian; one of the terrorists spoke fluent English; and that a Canadian of Chechen origin was involved.
The Masked Brigade claimed responsibility, saying the assault was retaliation for a French military operation against Islamist militants in northern Mali. The workers killed in the attack were American, British, French, Norwegian, Japanese, Filipino, Romanian and Algerian.
But the attack was almost certainly planned well before the French incursion, and analysts believe its real purpose was to establish
Differentiating the motives and alliances can be extremely difficult
Belmokhtar as the undisputed leader of the Islamist extremists who have converged to fight in the Sahel region of Africa.
A senior intelligence official told a Parliamentary committee last Thursday that dozens of Canadians were believed to have travelled abroad to join affiliates of alQaeda.
Michael Peirce of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service said terrorists come to Canada and apply for citizenship just so they can travel on a Canadian passport.
He called Canadians who went overseas to participate in terrorism “a serious threat to security” since they might one day return, but tracking them was challenging because they often disappeared into lawless regions.
“In Syria, for instance, there have been an influx of foreign fighters, some for the Free Syrian Army, some for alQaeda-related groups like the al-Nusrah Front, still others for the al-Assad regime,” said Mr. Peirce, the CSIS Assistant Director of Intelligence.
“So differentiating the motives and alliances of individuals can be extremely difficult. I should also point out that we see movement at times. An individual may go over, begin activities with the Free Syrian Army and move over and end up fighting with the al-Nusrah Front, for example, so it’s very difficult to track.”