FYI.

This story is over 5 years old.

News

Jihadists Are Calling for New Attacks in Canada, Some on Oil and Media Companies

And the same group taking responsibility for the Charlie Hebdo killings called on sympathizers to launch "lone-wolf" attacks on Canada.

Nassar bin Ali al Ansi taking responsibility for the Paris attacks. Screenshot via YouTube The same al Qaeda offshoot claiming responsibility for the Charlie Hebdo shootings is calling for lone-wolf attacks against other western nations—among them Canada—according to a private intelligence company, while an online jihadist calls for similar operations on western oil and media targets. Search for International Terrorist Entities (SITE) Intelligence—an American outfit monitoring global jihadist movements online—posted a report to its website showing a video of Nassar bin Ali al Ansi, the leader of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), encouraging terrorist actions in the West. According to the intelligence group, in the video al Ansi recommends lone-wolf sympathizers carry out "better and more harmful" attacks against countries like America, Britain, Canada, and France. "Canada's national security agencies will not hesitate to take all appropriate actions to counter any terrorist threat to Canada, its citizens and its interests around the world," said a spokesperson for the minister of Public Safety, adding that Canada would "not be intimidated" by threats. At the same time the spokesperson said "Canadians should remain vigilant" but can depend on the work of Canadian security agencies "to ensure the safety of Canadians" against credible threats. Earlier last week, al Ansi claimed the brazen daylight execution of 12 people inside the offices of the French satirical weekly, using the occasion to make threats against New York and Washington. The addition of Canada is the first time since the attack that the North American country is included among a group of western nations on the hit list of AQAP, an increasingly outspoken militant organization headquartered in the tribal areas of Yemen. The declaration comes on the heels of another jihadist threat to Canada, as SITE Intelligence posted a separate report on an apparent Islamic State sympathizer with a history of inciting homegrown terror attacks. According to the company, in the latest message from the online jihadist known as "Wa Harridi al Mu'minee" on Twitter, he singles out oil infrastructure and media companies as targets for would-be lone wolves in western countries. "In front of you are the oil and gas stations, and press and publication compounds… and others. Erupt the volcano of anger," he said in the message, which is reportedly peppered with imagery from the Charlie Hebdo attacks. "They are like sheep before you. Scatter them, cut off their heads, blow up their compounds, and make them hurt like we and you are hurting. Do not submit, for submission is not from the sons of our religion." In this particular message, entitled "Lone Wolves, You who Reside Among the Infidels, Your Turn has Come," al Mu'minee offers no specific country as a target, broadly inciting all western sympathizers. But in previous, similar tirades, he names the United States, Canada, and Europe as worthy of attack. The online jihadist urged Muslims in the West to either travel to Syria and Iraq to wage jihad with the Islamic State, or to perform attacks at home. Both threats come after revelations that Canadian special forces soldiers were the first western military to engage with the Islamic State in a confirmed gunfight. Canadian military officials maintain the incident constituted pure "self defense" and isn't representative of an escalation in Canada's combat role in Iraq. Meanwhile, on the domestic front, Canadian law-enforcement agencies are increasingly weary of homegrown terror activities given two high-profile attacks on Parliament and Canadian servicemen in the fall, which killed two soldiers. The attacks in Paris, which involved one fighter with suspected battle experience in Yemen among AQAP, Said Kouachi, did little to quell those fears. At the same time, domestic terror charges of three Ottawa men—one allegedly intending to join a militant group abroad—come before Parliament considers beefing up anti-terror laws to empower law-enforcement agencies against terrorist activity. New legislation could expand policing powers to detain suspects and identify attacks. Declassified Canadian intelligence documents show the Canadian Security and Intelligence Service (CSIS) is concerned about so-called lone-wolf attacks. And with CSIS pegging the number of Canadians fighting with militant groups in Syria and Iraq at over 30, there's concern within the intelligence community of what to do with returning fighters. VICE Canada asked CSIS for comment on this story and have yet to receive a statement. Follow Ben Makuch on Twitter.