Canadian citizen arrested in Quebec over suspected New York terror attack – OkotoksOnline.com

When a father and son were arrested in Ontario this summer for a suspected terrorist attack, the news shocked a 20-year-old Pakistani national residing in Canada named Muhammad Shahzeb Khan, according to U.S. authorities.

They say Khan used coded messages to warn that because of the arrests “here in Toronto,” he needed to “put to rest” his own alleged plans: to kill as many Jews as possible in New York around October 7, the anniversary of Hamas's attack on Israel.

But the recipient of the message was not an ally of Khan, but an undercover American agent.

US authorities and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) announced on Friday that Khan was arrested on Wednesday in Ormstown, Quebec. He is accused of planning an attack on a Jewish center in Brooklyn with firearms and knives in the name of the Islamic State.

They said Khan, also known as Shahzeb Jadoon, was arrested en route to New York to carry out his plans.

US Attorney General Merrick Garland said Khan's goal was allegedly to “slaughter as many Jews as possible in the name of ISIS.”

He said Khan's arrest was thanks to the “swift action” of Canadian law enforcement.

In a complaint filed the day of Khan's arrest in the Southern District of New York, FBI Special Agent Khajae Hester said Khan used encrypted messaging apps to communicate with undercover agents posing as willing participants in the conspiracy and solicited them to purchase “automatic and semi-automatic weapons.”

The complaint states that since November last year, Khan has “repeatedly and explicitly expressed his support for ISIS and his desire to carry out terrorist acts in support of ISIS.”

The lawsuit says Khan boasted that the mass murder would be “the largest attack on American soil since September 11.”

It was said that he was accused of attempting to possess material support and provide resources to a terrorist organization.

The RCMP said it was investigating Khan in conjunction with the FBI and “as his actions escalated, at no time prior to his arrest did Khan pose an imminent threat.”

It says Khan faces three charges in Canada: attempting to leave Canada to commit an offence for a terrorist organisation, participating in the activities of a terrorist organisation and conspiracy to commit an offence by violating US immigration law or attempting to enter the United States illegally.

Mounties said Khan is scheduled to appear in Supreme Court in Montreal on September 13 and the United States will seek his extradition.

The US complaint against Khan says he expressed to officers his desire to create “a real offline cell” of the Islamic State and instructed them to get assault rifles and ammunition, as well as “some good hunting knives” “so we can slit their throats.”

The date chosen for the attack was October 7 because protests were likely, the complaint says, but October 11, the Yom Kippur holiday, was also considered as a possible date for the attack.

There was a problem when the RCMP announced on July 31 that Ahmed Eldidi and his son Mostafa Eldidi had been arrested in Toronto and charged with terrorism-related offences, after which Khan reportedly warned officers the next day to stay off social media.

However, the lawsuit says undercover agents told Khan last month they had seized weapons, and at 5:40 a.m. Wednesday morning, he allegedly got into a vehicle in Toronto and headed toward Napanee, Ontario, where he picked up “additional passengers along the way.”

In Nepanee, the lawsuit says, they switched to a second car and drove to Montreal, where Khan and an “unidentified woman” switched vehicles again, with another person now behind the wheel, the lawsuit says.

At 2:54 p.m., about 12 miles from the U.S. border, the vehicle was stopped by police and Khan was arrested.

“The defendant was allegedly determined to kill Jews here in the United States, nearly a year after Hamas' horrific attack on Israel,” FBI Director Christopher Wray said in a statement.

RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme said: “There is no place for such ideological and hate-motivated crimes in Canada.”

“Violent extremism in all its forms is on the rise around the world, and Canada is not immune. This planned anti-Semitic attack on Jews in the United States is deplorable,” Dehemes' statement said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published September 6, 2024.