Canadian police and U.S. agencies have arrested two men suspected of plotting a major terrorist attack on Whirlpool Bridge, which connects Canada and the U.S. at Niagara Falls.
“The plan was to take out a train with passengers on board and the crossing trestle,” a police source told The Toronto Sun. “It was meant to be spectacular and there would have been a lot of carnage.”
The alleged plotters, identified as 35-year-old Raed Jaser of Toronto and 30-year-old Chiheb Esseghaier of Montreal, are not Canadian and were arrested after being surveilled for more than a year.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police say that the planned attack — which had no execution date and was disrupted early — was linked to "al-Qaeda elements in Iran":
This is the first time the #RCMP has laid charges related to an Al-Qaeda supported attack on Canadian soil.
— RCMP, Ontario (@RCMPONT) April 22, 2013
RCMP assistant Commissioner James Malizia said the plotters received support in the form of direction and guidance (as opposed to finances and/or hardware).
Journalist Michael Forian notes that the Iran connection is to elements of al-Qaeda in the country, and not to the Iranian government.
CBC notes that the cross-border investigation involved Canadian law enforcement agencies, the FBI, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Law enforcement officials noted that the terror suspects arrested today have no connection to the two brothers suspected of bombing the Boston Marathon.
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