Canada - RCMP Seeking Public's Help w/info re: 2 militants involved in terrorism

New Posts

Sillybilly

Sillybilly

Administrator
Staff member
Administrator
Joined
May 9, 2009
Messages
38,827
Reaction score
115,344
Two Canadians from London, Ontario, Ali Medlej and Xristos Katsiroubas, have been formally identified by RCMP as militants involved in an attack on a natural gas plant in Algeria in January 2013. The blast killed 38 hostages and 27 militants, including Medlej and Katsiroubas.

A third man, Aaron Yoon, a high-school friend also from London, travelled overseas with Medlej and Katsiroubas and is in jail in Mauritania.

The RCMP national security information network is asking for the public's help in coming forth with any information related to the individuals involved:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news...ttack-plead-for-publics-help/article10784256/

Anyone with information is urged to call the RCMP’s national security information network at 1-800-429-5805.
Click to expand...
 
Article re Aaron Yoon:

from:
http://globalnews.ca/news/453012/yoon-not-involved-in-algerian-attack-brother/

Aaron hasn’t been in contact with Ali and Xris for at least a year,” said Yoon’s brother.
Click to expand...

“It’s because they were friends in London and met overseas, and he was the last people that Xris and Ali spoke with,” said Yoon’s brother. “He wasn’t in the attack. Thank God, he wasn’t in the attack.”
Click to expand...
<bbm>

The above two statements by Yoon's brother seem at odds.
 
Thanks @sillybilly for creating this forum. I couldn't figure out how to create one... Hopefully we can get some interesting sleuthing on this case....
 
ace said:
Thanks @sillybilly for creating this forum. I couldn't figure out how to create one... Hopefully we can get some interesting sleuthing on this case....
Click to expand...

Hi ace !! For some reason the thread has been slow to draw interest. I'm feeling somewhat like the "Lone Ranger" in here, but i'll just keep being obnoxious with post after post ;)

I think you might not be able to access some of the regular thread tools until you have a higher post count (typically about 50 posts before new WSrs have access to all features). What you can do to bump up your post count is go to the "Game Room" forum and do some quick posts in the various threads to get your post count up:

[ame="http://www.websleuths.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=44"]Websleuths Crime Sleuthing Community[/ame]
 
Haha SB! I really didn't expect to find a thread on this here, but it has certainly hit close to home (literally!).

We live in London and our sons are of a similar age as the young men involved in this horrific event. It didn't take long for my sister to text me...."hey! I see in the news that young men from south London were involved in this terrorist event! Do my dear nephews know them??"

To be honest, my sons were completely oblivious to this news. You would think it would be a hot topic amongst their age group....but apparently not.

Having said that, in the video included in the very recent National Post article linked above, I saw that there was mention of a local watering hole where these guys hung out. Guess what? One of my sons lives within 100m of this plaza and he and his buddies hang out there too! My son practically fell over when I pointed it out to him today. He is definitely interested in the story now!

London does have a reasonable size Muslim population, however the large local mosque is very involved in interfaith activities in a positive way and there has been no community tension related to this group. It appears that the local 'terrorists' involved in this recent act did not attend the local mosque as it was too 'mundane' for them.

It still surprises me that these young men got caught up in this, as London isn't exactly a rough town to live in. People are pretty accepting and, although unemployment has risen recently with the loss of manufacturing jobs, there is a pretty stable economic base with low crime. To think that these young men were 'turned' even before the financial crisis is surprising to me. Yes, I have been called naive before!

I have been checking out the Muslim Youth Association, with which these young men were involved. This association is aligned with Shia muslims and articles posted on their website seem to emmanate from Iran. I haven't determined yet whether Shia or Sunni dominate here in London (although I suspect it is Shia).

I might even have to go off to the Dawghouse for a brew or two to do more local research. Of course I will make sure that my son won't be there with his friends! Could you imagine how embarrassed he would be?? :floorlaugh:
 
Hi Snoop !! Glad you're here.

Sadly it seems London isn't just the Storybook Gardens city that I recall from my childhood.

:websleuther: Have a brewski for me while you're at the dawghouse checking out the local scuttlebutt !!

sb :Banane35:
 
The Globe's detailed article....

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news...-jailed-accused-of-terrorism/article10825822/

In this article they quote an old London friend of theirs who had moved to Edmonton.

Mr. Alsaadi never thought Mr. Katsiroubas was in any kind of serious trouble until the Canadian Security Intelligence Service approached him – tipped off, according to the CBC, by someone who knew them. “It was alarming,” Mr. Alsaadi said. “I actually told them, ‘What are you guys up to, what’s going on here?’ ”
Click to expand...

And, perhaps unfortunately, they talked about Katsibouras' upbringing and named family members. I imagine they are being hounded by the press right now, just when they are dealing with the death of their son.

Mr. Alsaadi remembers feeling as though Mr. Katsiroubas’ mother and Mr. Hawn, his engineer stepfather, played favourites. With the two families under one roof, Xris was one of three boys, alongside his biological brother Andrew and a stepbrother, Eric. Mr. Katsiroubas often descended into the basement alone to play video games.
Click to expand...

The article goes on to say the Katsibouras and Yoon went to elementary school together. This seems to conflict with a more recent article in the London Free Press though, which says that Yoon went to school in Chatham (about an hour's drive west of London) from grade 1 to 8.

Aaron Yoon, accused of having ties to the terrorist group al Qaida, attended St. Ursula Catholic School from Grade 1 to 8 from the mid 1990s to early 2000, before his family moved to London.
Click to expand...

http://www.lfpress.com/2013/04/07/terrorism-aaron-yoon-currently-jailed-on-terrorism-related-charges

It does irk me that Yoon says that the Canadian government hasn't helped him since he's been incarcerated in Mauritania. He's the one that didn't even want his family to know that he was arrested and yet he wants help. My advice....don't be a terrorist! This isn't a game. You are old enough to know better. You aren't a teenager.
 
Snoopster said:
It does irk me that Yoon says that the Canadian government hasn't helped him since he's been incarcerated in Mauritania. He's the one that didn't even want his family to know that he was arrested and yet he wants help. My advice....don't be a terrorist! This isn't a game. You are old enough to know better. You aren't a teenager.
Click to expand...
<rsbm>

Same guy who wouldn't meet with AI, but wants help from our government while in jail for terrorism. Okayyyyyy :violin:
 
sillybilly said:
4th Canadian sought following Algeria attack



http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2013/04/12/fourth-canadian-london-linked.html
Click to expand...

Not surprised to find you here SB. ;)



Turns out this latest guy went to my sons' high school for part of the time, although my son closest in age did not know him.

I wonder why he switched schools. He started out at South for grade 9 and 10 and then moved to Saunders. According to media reports it isn't believed that he finished high school. Of course he might have switched school simply because his family moved, however the school he moved to would have had a much larger immigrant, and more specifically, muslim student population (of varying degrees of conservativeness).

Krogman said the mother wears a burka and doesn’t talk much to the neighbours. He said he hasn’t seen the oldest son around the family home for a while, perhaps two years.

“He was always respectful to me,” Krogman said, but was “kind of mouthy” at times to others and got into disputes with some of the other people on the street.

There is no animosity toward the family in the neighbourhood, Krogman said.
Click to expand...

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/mounties-now-seeking-fourth-man-connected-to-london-ont-terror-group/article11167096/
 
Government and security sources in Ottawa said they&#8217;re concerned that Enderi remains at large. <RCMP Commissioner>Paulson said his investigation into the Canadian connection involves Mounties at home and around the world.

He also warned Canadians to be aware of the dangers this case highlights.

&#8220;It is a little frustrating because I don&#8217;t think people fully understand the phenomenon of home-grown radicalization,&#8221; he said.
Click to expand...

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news...d-to-london-ont-terror-group/article11167096/
 
IMO, Canadians seem somewhat apathetic about Canadian militants involved in a terrorist attack with 800 hostages, and 38 dead, not counting the 29 militants. Is it because they think terrorism only happens in other countries? :waitasec: If these men are being trained on Canadian soil for attacks throughout the world, what makes Canadians think it can't or won't happen here.

Remember the Toronto 18 who planned to blow up CSIS headquarters and the Toronto Stock Exchange, electrical grids, nuclear stations .. and storm Parliament and cut off some heads? ... but "oh well".


http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com...good-canadian-boys-are-being-radicalized-too/

In sentencing the leader of the Toronto 18, the judge felt that Mr. Ahmad "was not really effective in pursuing his despicable goals," and portrayed Mr. Ahmad as a man who talked the talk, but couldn't walk the walk." I wonder what His Honour thought Ahmad and his buddies were going to do with, what ... 3 tonnes of ammonium nitrate? Grow veggie gardens in Washago?

http://m.theglobeandmail.com/news/n...ror-ringleader/article4262949/?service=mobile
 
RCMP investigate allegations Somalia suicide bomber was Canadian ...

TORONTO&#8212;The RCMP is looking into whether one of the suicide bombers who struck in the Somali capital Mogadishu on the weekend was a Canadian citizen.

&#8220;We cannot provide specific details but are working with relevant domestic and international partners to gather information,&#8221; Sgt. Greg Cox, an RCMP media relations officer, said Monday.

A half-dozen terrorists detonated suicide vests at the Mogadishu court complex on Sunday, killing 29 and injuring 58. A car bomb also exploded near the national airport.
Click to expand...

full article:
http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/0...egations-somalia-suicide-bomber-was-canadian/
 
New article from CBC.

Sources at the jail in Nouakchott, the Mauritanian capital, say that as soon as Medlej was released in early 2012 he went to find work at the gas plant in Algeria, where he would be killed a year later.

It seems his role was to scout the facility. He then travelled to militant training camps in Mali to help draw up the plans of attack, sources say.
Click to expand...

These guys weren't duped. They knew what was going to happen. Medlej stuck to his plans even after being detained. It now becomes more evident that they played a meaningful role and weren't just naive bystanders caught up in things.

Mauritanian prosecutors have now asked for a retrial for Yoon and several others imprisoned on terrorism-related convictions. A hearing is scheduled for next week. Prosecutors feel the sentences weren&#8217;t strict enough and it seems they have new questions.
Click to expand...

I should say so.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2013/05/09/canadian-worked-algeria-gas-plant-attack.html


...and an older article that I missed, with a bit more information about the 4th Londoner.

People in the community told CBC News that Enderi left London in 2010 to go to Libya, presumably to operate an importing business that was being run by his father, Abdul, who bought and sold used vehicles. They said that Abdul joined his son three months ago and that both are alive and well in Libya, although their whereabout remain unconfirmed.
Click to expand...

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2013/04/14/london-community-algeria-attack.html

And, just to see if we can come up with any connections between Enderi, in Libya, and his other London buddies...I came across this in the NY Times back in January:

Some Algeria Attackers Are Placed at Benghazi

Several Egyptian members of the squad of militants that lay bloody siege to an Algerian gas complex last week also took part in the deadly attack on the United States Mission in Libya in September, a senior Algerian official said Tuesday.
Click to expand...
 
This is from a few weeks ago, but I had missed it....

Canadian national security investigators are probing intelligence about figures in London, Ont., who allegedly promoted extreme views of Islam and may have encouraged young Muslim men and converts to go abroad, the Star has learned.

Called Project Scupper, the operation underway since 2011 in southern Ontario is focused on tracking individuals who have since left London—some believed to have travelled to the Toronto area, others who disappeared including three now tied to terrorist activity in northern Africa.

Project Scupper dovetails with, but is separate from, another investigation tagged as Project Spearmint that is focused more narrowly on how and why Canadians took part in a well-coordinated assault led by dangerous Al Qaeda offshoot on an Algerian gas plant in January.
Click to expand...

http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2013/05/17/canadian_security_investigators_probe_possible_instigators_of_london_terror_suspects.html

Clearly this isn't earth-shattering news. Naturally they are trying to track down 'recruiters' here in Canada.

I hope they find them!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

DNASolves

Who is Escambia County John Doe (1989)?

Staff online

Members online

... and 204 more.
Total: 4,620 (members: 205, guests: 4,415)

Online statistics

Members online
205
Guests online
4,415
Total visitors
4,620
Totals may include hidden visitors.

Forum statistics

Threads
592,311
Messages
17,967,169
Members
228,740
Latest member
zorba347
Back
Top