Canadian police shoot dead terror suspect 'who was planning a suicide bomb attack'

Police at the scene in the Ontario town of Strathroy
REUTERS
Chloe Chaplain11 August 2016

Canadian police have shot dead a terror suspect accused of planning to carry out a suicide bomb attack.

Aaron Driver, who allegedly planned a public suicide bombing mission, was killed in the police operation which ended on Wednesday night.

He was well-known to authorities and had been banned from communicating with Islamic State as he was suspected of trying to assist terror organisations.

Driver, aged in his mid-20s and originally from Winnipeg, Manitoba, was issued a court order earlier this year ordering him not to associate with any terrorist organisation, including the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

Terror links: The suspect had been banned from associating with any terrorist organisations 
REUTERS

The police operation continued well into Wednesday night in the southern Ontario town of Strathroy, about 140 miles south west of Toronto.

Eyewitness Irene Lee said up to 25 police cars had been camped out near her parents' shop since about 4.15pm local time.

She said she was at her home nearby when she heard a loud noise and shortly afterwards a police officer told residents to stay inside their homes.

According to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, it had received credible information of a potential terrorist threat and moved in on the suspect to prevent an attack.

Camped out: The police operation went on into Wednesday night 
REUTERS

It said a suspect was identified and the "proper course of action has been taken" to ensure there was no danger to public safety.

Driver became known to authorities in June 2015 and was investigated over potential terror links.

When he was released he was ordered to wear a tracking device and was banned from going on the Internet or having any communication with the Islamic State group, including having any object on his person that bore an Islamic State group logo.

Later, some of his strict bail conditions were lifted after Driver's lawyer, Leonard Tailleur, agreed to a peace bond stating there were "reasonable grounds to fear that he may participate, contribute directly or indirectly in the activity of a terrorist group".

Rules prohibiting Driver from using a computer or mobile phone were to be in place until the end of August.

Lawyer Mr Tailleur has said he was "shocked" to hear what had happened and "saddened to hear that it had to end this way for him" in an email to The Canadian Press.

Public safety minister Ralph Goodale said he had spoken to prime minister Justin Trudeau about the events "to confirm that public safety has been and continues to be properly protected".

"The RCMP, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service and other police and security agencies were involved in the operations," he said.

"These agencies conducted themselves effectively in the circumstances that developed today."

The national terrorism threat level for Canada remains at "medium" where it has stood since the fall of 2014, Mr Goodale said.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in

MORE ABOUT