Trains originating in the U.S. were among the possible targets, NBC News has learned. Authorities say there was never any imminent danger to the public. NBC's Stephanie Gosk reports.
By Ian Johnston, Staff Writer, NBC News
The two suspects in the alleged al Qaeda-backed plot to blow up a rail line between the United States and Canada appeared in court on Tuesday, as revelations emerged that the Muslim community helped foil the potentially deadly plan.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said Monday that it had arrested Chiheb Esseghaier, of Montreal, and Raed Jaser, of Toronto, over what sources said was a plan to derail a train from the United States after it had crossed the border.
Jaser, 35, appeared briefly in a Toronto court on Tuesday for a bail hearing. A?long beard covered his face, and he wore a black shirt with no tie, and was accompanied by ?his parents and brother, the Associated Press reported.
Jaser entered no plea and was ordered to appear again in court next month. His lawyer was granted?a publication ban on future evidence and testimony.
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In a Montreal courtroom, Esseghaier, 30, declined a court appointed lawyer and addressed the judge in French, according to the Montreal Gazette.??All the conclusions that have been made, I can describe them as conclusions that have been made from facts and things said that are nothing but appearances. We can?t make these conclusions because we are not in a backwards state,? the paper reports him telling the judge.
Neither of the men are Canadian citizens, but authorities have not revealed their nationalities.
Several sources told NBCNewYork.com that Amtrak trains out of New York City may have been scouted by the suspects.
Muhammad Robert Heft, a Muslim community leader in the Scarborough area of Canada's biggest city, told the Toronto Sun newspaper that he expected ordinary Muslims would experience problems because of the allegations.
But he said Muslims had helped the security services detain the suspects.
Canadian authorities hold a press conference after two men were arrested and charged in an alleged "al Qaeda-supported" plot to blow up a U.S.-Canada rain line.
"There is going to be backlash," Heft told the Sun. "But I want to reiterate. Who was the one who tipped the RCMP off? It was our community."
"We have to be on the front lines," he said. "To either nip it in the bud in the very beginning or co-operate with authorities so they can be brought to justice."
"In our community we may look a little different, but in our hearts we love Canada. It's our country. It's our tribe," he added. "We want safety for all Canadians regardless of their religion."
Police also said a tip from the Muslim community had helped their year-long investigation, Reuters reported.
"Had this plot been carried out, it would have resulted in innocent people being killed or seriously injured," Royal Canadian Mounted Police?s Assistant Commissioner James Malizia told reporters.
"The individuals were receiving support from al Qaeda elements located in Iran," he said.
Iran denied any involvement in the alleged attack plan. ?Iran's position against this group is very clear and well known. Al Qaeda?has no possibility to do any activity inside Iran or conduct any operation abroad from Iran territory,? the Iranian Mission to the U.N. said in a statement to NBC News. ?We reject strongly and categorically any connection to this story.?
Malizia said the RCMP believed the two had the capacity and intent to carry out the attack, but there was no imminent threat to the public, passengers, or infrastructure, Reuters reported.
U.S. officials said the attack would have targeted a rail line between New York and Toronto, a route that travels along the Hudson Valley into New York wine country and enters Canada near Niagara Falls.
New York-area commuters like Jason Rivers told NBCNewYork.com that they took the threat seriously.
"I'm always concerned," Rivers said at Penn Station. "I live in New Jersey, but every day I come through here. You just never know."
"Unfortunately, the country's a little bit on edge about what's going on, so I think it's natural that everybody be concerned," another commuter Michael Milch said.
Some security experts were surprised by the alleged link to al Qaeda factions in Iran, whose Shiite rulers have a generally hostile attitude toward the Sunni militant movement. Reuters explained:
Iran did host some senior al Qaeda figures under a form of house arrest in the years following the September 11 attacks, but there has been little to no evidence to date of joint attempts to execute violence against the West.
However, a U.S. government source said Iran is home to a little-known network of alleged al Qaeda fixers and "facilitators" based in the Iranian city of Zahedan, very close to Iran's borders with both Pakistan and Afghanistan.
The source said the operatives serve as go-betweens, travel agents and financial intermediaries for al Qaeda operatives and cells operating in Pakistan and moving through the area.
They do not operate under the protection of the Iranian government, which periodically launches crackdowns on the al Qaeda elements, though at other times appears to turn a blind eye to them.
Reuters contributed to this report.
Related:
Canada thwarts plot to blow up U.S.-Canada rail line
This story was originally published on Tue Apr 23, 2013 5:08 AM EDT
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