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(USA Today) Canadian police and intelligence services arrested two suspects Monday who allegedly were planning to derail a passenger rail train in Toronto in what the Royal Canadian Mounted Police called a "major terrorist attack."
A 25-year-old man was arrested in Toronto and a 30-year-old man was apprehended in Montreal. The RCMP said at an afternoon news conference that the suspects had received support and "guidance" from al-Qaeda "elements" in Iran, but there is no indication they were "state sponsored."
Neither is a Canadian citizen. The RCMP would not identify their nationalities or say how long they had been in the country.
Media reported the men are Tunisian.
The alleged plot to derail a VIA Rail train was not connected to the Boston Marathon terror attack. The RCMP said that the suspects were in the planning stage and that the public was never in any danger.
The RCMP said the plot involved "a specific route but not a specific train," but officials would not say which route. Law enforcement sources told media outlets that it was the Toronto to New York route.
The cross-border investigation began last year and was coordinated with the U.S. department of Homeland security and the FBI.
The two men are expected to appear in court Tuesday.
