Canadians fighting in Syria could pose ‘immediate’ threat to national security when they return: CSIS
Salah Al-Ashkar/AFP/Getty ImagesOpposition fighters carry a rocket launcher during clashes against government forces in Aleppo on Jan. 27, 2014. One report says there are now up to 11,000 foreign fighters in the conflict from 74 countries.
About 30 Canadians are now fighting with extremist groups in Syria, leading to concerns they could return home and pose an “immediate” threat to national security, the head of Canada’s intelligence service said Monday.
Appearing before the Senate National Security and Defense Committee, Michel Coulombe testified about “Canadians who are abroad in support of extremist activities, including approximately 30 in Syria alone.”
Their activities range from paramilitary activity and weapons and explosives training to fundraising and studying at extremist Islamic schools, said Mr. Coulombe, director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service.
“Some never achieve their intent and simply return home. Thus their depth of experience varies widely, making some individuals much more concerning than others,” he said.
Investigating Canadian extremists once they are abroad was “inherently challenging,” he said. “The number of individuals overseas are in constant flux, their motivations are difficult to ascertain, their movement across sometimes isolated terrain are difficult to track.”
While officials had previously said that “dozens” of Canadians had left for Syria to fight, this was the first time a more specific figure had been disclosed. It follows similar admissions by the U.S. and U.K.
In the past six months alone, three Canadians have been killed while fighting with Al-Qaeda-linked factions in Syria, most recently Damian Clairmont, 22, a Muslim convert from Calgary who was reported dead last month.
Another convert from Timmins, Ont., André Poulin, appears to have died last summer, around the same time that Ali Dirie, a convicted Somali-born Canadian terrorist from Toronto, was killed.
Appearing before the Senate National Security and Defense Committee, Michel Coulombe testified about “Canadians who are abroad in support of extremist activities, including approximately 30 in Syria alone.”
Their activities range from paramilitary activity and weapons and explosives training to fundraising and studying at extremist Islamic schools, said Mr. Coulombe, director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service.
“Some never achieve their intent and simply return home. Thus their depth of experience varies widely, making some individuals much more concerning than others,” he said.
Investigating Canadian extremists once they are abroad was “inherently challenging,” he said. “The number of individuals overseas are in constant flux, their motivations are difficult to ascertain, their movement across sometimes isolated terrain are difficult to track.”
While officials had previously said that “dozens” of Canadians had left for Syria to fight, this was the first time a more specific figure had been disclosed. It follows similar admissions by the U.S. and U.K.
In the past six months alone, three Canadians have been killed while fighting with Al-Qaeda-linked factions in Syria, most recently Damian Clairmont, 22, a Muslim convert from Calgary who was reported dead last month.
Another convert from Timmins, Ont., André Poulin, appears to have died last summer, around the same time that Ali Dirie, a convicted Somali-born Canadian terrorist from Toronto, was killed.
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