WASHINGTON, April 22 (RIA Novosti) – Canadian security officials on Monday arrested two men who were suspected of planning a terror attack to derail a passenger train, allegedly with backing from “al-Qaida elements in Iran,” the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said.
The two men accused in the terror plot, Chiheb Esseghaier and Raed Jaser “were receiving support from elements of al-Qaida in Iran… in the form of direction and guidance,” said Assistant Commissioner James Malizia.
The RCMP said there was “no information” that the suspected attackers had state sponsorship from Iran for their alleged attack.
The suspects have been charged with conspiring to carry out an attack and conspiring to murder for a terrorist group, the RCMP said. They will appear in court for bail hearings on Tuesday.
The alleged attack was “definitely in the planning stage but not imminent,” said Chief Superintendent Jennifer Strachan.
Neither of the suspects was a Canadian citizen but the RCMP refused to say where they were from.
The train line they allegedly planned to attack plies the route between Toronto and New York. The officials refused to give details on where the suspects allegedly planned to derail the train.
The two men were plotting to attack a train operated by Via Rail Canada, the government-owned rail system, and they watched trains in and around Toronto, Strachan said.
The RCMP said that Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents from the US were involved in the operation to thwart the attack.
A US Justice Department official said there is no connection between the Canadian terror plot and the Boston Marathon bombings, The Associated Press reported.
