HOW CANADA WOUND UP WITH JIHAD PROBLEMS

The UK Telegraph explains how the great white north came to have quite a few jihadists:

If there was anyone left who thought only troubled, fractured societies were subject to terrorism, the wave of apparently jihadist attacks across a country that is a byword for laid-back prosperity will surely have disabused them.

Two soldiers killed in three days, the shootings on Wednesday following the ram-raid by a known jihadist on Monday – these are the sort of incidents against which Britain and other European countries have steeled themselves for years.

Canada has recently adopted a more aggressive position on the world stage, which will no doubt be a pretext for the attacks: this week, Canadian jets joined the international coalition fighting in Iraq.

But the threat was already there. Canadians are among those who have shown up fighting and dying for the cause of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in Syria.

A 23-year-old called Mohammed Ali, known by his nickname Abu Turaab al-Kanadi, has become a celebrity for cheering on Isil beheadings.

[...] The irony is as western governments become more adept at monitoring extremists, preventing them from travelling, so they are more likely to commit acts of terror at home.

Martin Couture-Rouleau, the 25-year-old Islamist extremist who, under the name Ahmad LeConverti, drove into and killed Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent, 53, on Monday, was known to the police, who had confiscated his passport.

It's clear that preventing these monsters from going to Iraq and Syria alone does not prevent them from turning to violent crime. They'll have to start modifying current laws to allow detention - or better still, exile - of people who could be dangerous to society.

The AP Wire's said that the gunman's mother thankfully sides with the victims, not her son:

The mother of the man accused of killing a soldier at Ottawa's war memorial then storming Parliament before being shot dead says she is crying for the victims of the shooting, not her son.

In a brief and tear-filled telephone interview with The Associated Press Thursday, Susan Bibeau said she did not know what to say to those hurt in the attack.

"Can you ever explain something like this?" she said. "We are sorry."

Investigators offered little information about the gunman in Ottawa, identified as 32-year-old petty criminal Michael Zehaf-Bibeau.

Canadian police conceded Thursday that Zehaf-Bibeau was the lone gunman, the second attack in three days in what the prime minister described as terrorism.

The heart of the capital city of Ottawa had been in lockdown after Wednesday's attack, with fears that other gunmen might be on the loose. Ottawa police Constable Marc Soucy confirmed to The Associated Press Thursday that police are satisfied there was one attacker. Ottawa police Chief Charles Bordeleau told the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. that "there is no longer a threat to public safety."

The two attacks stunned Canadians and raised concerns their country was being targeted for reprisals for joining the U.S.-led air campaign against the extremist Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria.

On Thursday, Prime Minister Stephen Harper visited the National War Memorial where the soldier was killed to lay a wreath.

Earlier, Harper called the shooting the country's second terrorist attack in three days. A man Harper described as an "ISIL-inspired terrorist" on Monday ran over two soldiers in a parking lot in Quebec, killing one and injuring another before being shot to death by police. Like the suspect from Wednesday's shooting in Ottawa, he was a recent convert to Islam.

Witnesses said the soldier posted at the National War Memorial, identified as Cpl. Nathan Cirillo, was gunned down at point-blank range by a man carrying a rifle and dressed all in black, his face half-covered with a scarf. The gunman appeared to raise his arms in triumph, then entered Parliament, a few hundred yards away, where dozens of shots soon rang out, according to witnesses.

People fled the complex by scrambling down scaffolding erected for renovations, while others took cover inside as police with rifles and body armor took up positions outside and cordoned off the normally bustling streets around Parliament.

On Twitter, Canada's justice minister and other government officials credited 58-year-old sergeant-at-arms Kevin Vickers with shooting the attacker just outside the MPs' caucus rooms. Vickers serves a largely ceremonial role at the House of Commons, carrying a scepter and wearing rich green robes, white gloves and a tall imperial hat.

At least three people were treated for minor injuries.

It's very lucky they have people like Vickers working for them. If he hadn't been there, chances are the horrors caused by the jihadist would be a lot worse. For now, they're going to have to beef up security at the House of Commons entrances, add more security cameras and do whatever it takes to ensure such horrors can't penetrate the parliament at ease again.