A father and son accused of planning a terrorist attack in Toronto had filmed a video of themselves holding weapons in front of the ISIS flag, sources told Global News.
It may explain why police have claimed the planned attack was in the “advanced stages.” Police seized both bladed weapons during the arrests on Sunday night.
RCMP tactical officers took the pair into custody at a hotel north of Toronto as they were allegedly close to conducting a mass casualty attack at an unspecified target.
They have been charged with six ISIS-related terrorism offences. Two of the charges accuse them of possessing an axe and machete for the benefit of ISIS.
One of the counts is for an aggravated assault the father allegedly committed for ISIS outside of Canada in 2015. The charge does not specify where, and the RCMP declined to elaborate.
But two sources said the elder Eldidi had allegedly appeared in a June 2015 ISIS propaganda video in which he was shown dismembering a prisoner with a sword.
A video obtained by Global News that appears to match the one that resulted in the aggravated assault charge shows a prisoner wearing an orange jumpsuit, suspended from a pole in a desert.
A man wearing a black robe, whose face is visible in the video, then hacks at the prisoner’s limbs with a sword. It is unclear whether the victim was already dead when he was dismembered.
The video, titled “deter spies,” was published in June 2015 by a pro-ISIS media outlet.
At a news conference on Wednesday, police provided few details on the case, saying the investigation was continuing and a publication ban was in effect.
They said there was no further threat to public safety.
The Eldidis are among more than three dozen suspected ISIS supporters who have been charged in Canada with offences related to the terrorist group, formed in Iraq and Syria in 2014.
A Media analysis of police, prosecution and court records found that Canadian authorities have charged 38 people with ISIS-related crimes since then.
Twenty-seven of those were men, including the Eldidis. Another six were women, while five were minors. Nine of the arrests have come since the start of 2023.
The charges range from passport fraud to terrorism and murder. But all had one common denominator: they were carried out for ISIS.
Of those accused, 20 have been convicted to date, while 14 are still awaiting trials. Four were found not guilty or their charges were stayed.