JOIN USRoyal Canadian Mounted Police Inspector Keith Finn said today that Mohamed Hersi, 25, was arrested as he was about to board a plane last night. Finn said he was planning to join al-Shabaab. He has been charged with attempting to participate in terrorist activities and counselling another person to do the same.
Al-Shabaab is an al-Qaida-linked militia trying to overthrow Somalia's transitional government. It has recruited Westerners for its cause. Police said several Somalian youths from the Toronto area are suspected to have travelled to Somalia to join al-Shabaab. This is the first arrest in Canada.
Police Supt Tom Fitzgerald said domestic radicalisation and recruitment is an ongoing concern and he thanked Somalian community members who played an integral role in the six month investigation. The US government charged 14 people last year with being participants in "a deadly pipeline" to Somalia that routed money and fighters from the United States to the militant group al-Shabaab. Of the 14 charged, 10 are people from Minnesota who allegedly left to join al-Shabaab. The FBI has said al-Shabaab tries to radicalise and recruit US citizens and others to train and fight with them.