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Canada’s intelligence chief has disclosed that al-Qaida terrorists are continuing to operate in that country.
Ward Elcock, director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, also said that Islamic militants in Canada traveled to Afghanistan after Sept. 11 to fight with Taliban and al-Qaida forces.
“People have gone continuously [both before and after Sept. 11],” he said. “Not in huge numbers, we’re not talking about thousands of people. The numbers are small, but there are some.”
No Canadian nationals are among the several hundred militants who have been captured by the U.S. military forces.
The statements highlight the terrorist threat to the United States from Canada, which has very liberal immigration policies that have been used in the past by terrorists seeking to infiltrate into the United States. The Canadian intelligence chief did not say how many al-Qaida militants went to Afghanistan from Canada and could not confirm that the militants had managed to get into Afghanistan after the start of military operations Oct. 7.
Meanwhile, U.S. intelligence officials said the fact that al-Qaida terrorists were able to operate clandestinely in Singapore highlights the sophistication of the group.
Singapore is renowned for having one of world’s most sophisticated internal security services that have established a pervasive surveillance system including both human agents and electronic sensors.
“They are almost a police state,” said one security official, who noted that Singapore’s domestic intelligence service has broad police powers and can conduct blanket surveillance of foreigners.
Singapore is a city-state located in Southeast Asia where an al-Qaida terrorist cell was detected recently.
Singapore’s Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong said last week that a terrorist linked to Osama bin Laden had planned to hijack an airplane and crash it into the nation’s Changi Airport.
In a speech to parliament, Goh said the terrorist cell is part of the growing Islamic militancy in the region. Five members of Jemaah Islamiyah escaped in January to Thailand. The group is linked to al-Qaida.
Goh identified one of the terrorists as Mas Selamat Kastari, who had planned to hijack a plane from Indonesia, Malaysia or Thailand and fly it on a suicide mission to the airport.
“It is not just al-Qaida we are concerned with,” Goh said. “It is Islamic radicalism and militancy in our region.”
“The al-Qaida terrorists are primarily against the Americans,” Goh said. “The radical groups in our region have a regional agenda. The two have combined forces. These are not bogeyman tales to frighten children. Nor have we exaggerated the extent of the problem. There is overwhelming evidence to suggest that the militant groups in our region have extensive and well-developed networks.”
In December, Singapore authorities detained 13 Jemaah members who were plotting to blow up American targets and foreign embassies. The group has as its goal the establishment of an Islamic state in the region, including Singapore.
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