Suspect Charged in Canada for Plotting ’ISIL’-Inspired Attacks

Local Editor

Officials stated that they had arrested and charged a man in British Columbia Friday after allegedly posting material supporting the "ISIL" group.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said 33-year-old Othman Ayed Hamdan of Fort St. John, about 1,200 kilometers [745 miles] north of Vancouver, was charged on three counts.

According to an RCMP statement, he was accused of counseling to commit murder, counseling to assault causing bodily harm and counseling to commit aggravated assault -- all "for the benefit of a terrorist group."

Hamdan, who has been under investigation since October 2014, is in custody and was expected to appear in court shortly.

The RCMP said "a number of items" were seized from his residence.

RCMP Superintendent Dan Bond, an assistant criminal operations officer for national security stated: "We were able to arrest this individual and disrupt his efforts to harm citizens across the country."

Furthermore, Canadian lawmakers passed new anti-terror measures this year, in response to attacks on Canadian soil last October, when a gunman shot dead a ceremonial guard and then stormed parliament, and a soldier was run over and killed in rural Quebec.

The toughened stance had drawn criticism from those who say it violates civil rights and said the law was too broad and lacked oversight.

Officials defended the measure Friday after Hamdan's arrest, and said that the government would remain vigilant.

"It is clear that the terrorism threat is real..." said Public Safety Minister Steven Blaney adding that the Takfiri movement "had declared war on Canada".

"That is why our government passed the anti-terrorism act... which enhances the ability of our police officers to detain suspected terrorists before they can harm Canadians."

Accordingly, the law criminalizes the promotion of terrorism, makes it easier for police to arrest and detain individuals without charge and expands the Canadian Security Intelligence Service's mandate from intelligence-collection to actively thwarting terror plots and spying outside Canada.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team