Suspected ISIS member entered Canada, gained citizenship 3 years after allegedly appearing in terrorist video

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The man who is alleged to have planned a terrorist attack in Canada was allowed into the country three years after his appearance in a 2015 ISIS video, authorities say.

Details released at the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security show that Ahmed Fouad Mostafa Eldidi landed at Toronto’s Pearson Airport on Feb. 5, 2018. He made a refugee claim that was accepted in February 2019.

Eldidi was allowed to become a Canadian citizen in May 2024 after he was screened by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS).

RCMP announce more details on two men arrested for terrorism charges: Ahmad Fouad Mostafa Eldidi, 62, and Mostafa Eldidi, 26, are facing nine charges, including conspiracy to commit murder on behalf of ISIS.

Police say the men had an axe and machete as weapons. pic.twitter.com/3pfRIxCW5t

— Rebel News (@RebelNewsOnline) July 31, 2024

CSIS learned in June that Eldidi was a potential security threat and launched an investigation into him. A separate investigation was also started by the RCMP, and Eldidi was arrested along with his son Mostafa on July 28.

The committee voted to probe Eldidi’s path to citizenship after Global News reported that he had come to Canada after appearing in an ISIS video wherein he allegedly dismembered a prisoner.

Eldidi’s son was an Egyptian citizen who applied for a study permit in 2019. He was refused the permit and then made a refugee claim at the Fort Erie, Ontario land border in 2020. He was accepted in 2022 after security screening turned up no concerns.

Ahmed Fouad Mostafa Eldidi, 62, and Mostafa Eldidi, 26, both of Toronto, have been arrested on nine terrorism-related offences, including conspiracy to murder at the direction of the Islamic State (ISIS).

MORE: https://t.co/5lcnbSvHM1 pic.twitter.com/Q6Pc7Cs9sq

— Rebel News (@RebelNewsOnline) July 31, 2024

Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc said that an internal review was underway, assuring that the process would "move rapidly."

The two suspects now face a total of nine charges.

"The moment the government of Canada became aware of concerning information regarding this individual, all of the appropriate steps were put in place by CSIS and the RCMP, which culminated in the arrest on the 28th of July," LeBlanc said.

One of the charges against the father is an aggravated assault charge that was committed overseas in 2015. Sources told Global News that the charge is related to the ISIS video from Iraq in 2015 that shows a man wearing an ISIS uniform, dismembering a person with a sword.

"Do you really think that the system is working if somebody like this who’s an alleged ISIS terrorist who, if he was even a little bit more productive, would have resulted in mass casualties in Toronto?" said Conservative MP Melissa Lantsman.

"Do you really think that that’s how the system should work? Do you really think that this is not a colossal failure of your government?"

RCMP officials arrested Ahmed and Mostafa Eldidi July 28 in a Richmond Hill, Ontario hotel. They face several terrorism-related charges for plotting a ‘serious, violent attack’ in Toronto.

MORE: https://t.co/cP2Gbp8A1Q pic.twitter.com/L5C2Yj6TVQ

— Rebel News (@RebelNewsOnline) August 7, 2024

Eldidi, 62, was taken into custody at a hotel north of Toronto along with his 26-year-old son, as the pair were allegedly preparing an attack in the city. The RCMP stated that they were "in the advanced stages of planning a serious, violent attack in Toronto."