Terror plotters wanted to announce Canadian beheadings on air

TORONTO - The ring leader of an Al Qaeda-linked plot against Canada had planned to storm parliament, “cut off some heads” and then announce this by capturing the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) here, a court here heard Thursday.

The shocking details of terrorist designs were revealed in an intercept played in the court where the last three of the 18 men arrested in the plot are facing trial.

Known as Toronto-18, the terror plot was unearthed in June 2006 with the arrest of these 18 Muslims, many of them of Pakistani origin, from the Toronto area.

Working at the behest of Al Qaeda, these men had planned to target civilian, military and nuclear targets, storm parliament, behead the prime minister and others and then announce their mission by capturing the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) headquarters here.

To carry out their mission, they had undergone training in firearms at a remote place from here in the winter of 2005.

The plot was uncovered with the help of a mole who was paid nearly $4 million by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

So far, one plotter has been jailed for life, other have been let off with light sentences and seven released without any charges.

With the last three of the plotters, including ring leader Fahim Ahmad, going on trial here this week, the court Thursday heard an intercept in which Ahmad asks another person, “Hey, wanna be part of the group that goes up to parliament, man, cut off some heads?”

The other person identified as Amin Durrani asks, “What happens at the parliament?”

Responds the ring leader, “We go and kill everybody.”

The mole named Mubin Shaikh, who is a witness for the prosecution now, captured the intercept by befriending the ring leader.

“Fahim’s idea is: We’re going to attack parliament, take over and use the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Service) to broadcast our victory,” the mole told the court.