Canada has had two fatal attacks within a short time by men who are being reported to have been converts to Islam and to have been previously identified by government security services as high risk individuals. There are now reports that Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, yesterday's assailant, had social media connections to a jihadist network.
Sources: Ottawa shooting suspect had ties to jihadists
The suspect in Wednesday's shootings in Ottawa had "connections" to jihadists in Canada who shared a radical Islamist ideology, including at least one who went overseas to fight in Syria, multiple U.S. sources told CNN on Thursday.
The gunman was Quebec native Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, a convert to Islam, U.S. officials said.
Zehaf-Bibeau was connected to Hasibullah Yusufzai through social media, according to a U.S. counterterrorism source. Yusufzai is wanted by Canadian authorities for traveling overseas to fight alongside Islamist fighters in Syria, The Globe and Mail, a Canadian newspaper, reported.
American officials are reportedly scouring databases and communications for possible links to American-based jihadists.
Other radicalized people connected to Zehaf-Bibeau are still believed to be living in Canada, two U.S. law enforcement officials said.
The information that is emerging about Zehaf-Bibeau, a Quebec native, indicates that he had a history of criminal convictions for robbery and drug offences before he became involved with Islamic groups. Sorting out reasons for these instances of impersonal public violence is always complicated.
There has been considerable discussion in several western countries about the risks associated with young radicalized individuals who might associate with ISIS, either to travel to the Middle East or commit acts of domestic terrorism. Zehaf-Bibeau had had his Canadian passport revoked because of concern that he was at risk of traveling to participate in fighting in the Middle East. This is beginning to sound a bit more involved than just idle speculation.
UPDATE:
The conservative Canadian government seems inclined to take a page out of the Bush/Cheney playbook.
Canada signals new powers for security agencies in wake of Ottawa attack Prime minister Stephen Harper says he plans to strengthen counter-terrorism efforts as parliament returns day after shooting
The Canadian government indicated on Thursday that it intends to speed up proposals to toughen the country’s anti-terror laws in the wake of the attack on parliament in Ottawa.
The governing Conservatives have made no secret of their plan to install new anti-terror powers, giving the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) more powers to track, investigative and detain would-be homegrown terrorists. Harper promised the proposals would be brought forward.
“They need to be much strengthened, and I assure you, Mr Speaker, that work which is already under way will be expedited,” Mr Harper said.
Details of those new powers have yet to be released, but justice minister Peter MacKay indicated to reporters that they will include measures to allow the preventive detention of suspected would-be terrorists.