SAINT RICHELIEU (Quebec): The fatal attack on a Canadian soldier by a suspected Islamist militant in Quebec was “clearly linked to terrorist ideology”, Canada’s public safety minister said on Tuesday.

It was the first fatal attack on Canadian soil involving Islamist militants, and the first incident since Canada joined the battle against Islamic State (IS) fighters.

The 25-year-old suspected militant deliberately ran over two soldiers with his car in the Quebec town of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu on Monday and was shot dead by police shortly afterwards.

Police said on Tuesday that one of the soldiers had died.

First fatal attack in Canada involving Islamists

“What took place yesterday is clearly linked to terrorist ideology,” Public Safety Minister Steven Blaney told reporters in the Quebec town, about 40km southeast of Montreal.

“I can assure you we take the terrorist threat seriously. This tragedy reminds us painfully that this threat is very real.”

Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s office said the man driving the car was known to federal authorities, and that there were clear indications he had become “radicalised”, a term the government has used to refer to those who support Islamist militancy.

Canadian security officials have been worried for years about the potential threat of radicalised young men.

Canada is sending six fighter jets to take part in the US-led campaign against IS militants in Iraq.

Canadian media, citing police sources, identified the driver as Martin Couture-Rouleau, a resident of Saint-Jean-Sur-Richelieu, and said he had a Facebook page under the name of Ahmad Rouleau. Reporters were unable to verify the identity of the driver.

Mr Blaney declined to give any details of the police investigation into the attack and did not respond when asked about media reports that said Canadian authorities had confiscated Rouleau’s passport earlier this year.

A neighbour alleged that Rouleau became radicalised about a year ago after getting involved with extremist Muslims.

Television footage outside the house of Rouleau’s father showed a police investigator leaving with a bag overnight.

The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) has for years fretted about the dangers posed by home-grown extremists.

Jeff Yaworski, deputy director of operations at the spy agency, said on Monday the agency was worried that IS’s “message and successful social media strategy could inspire radicalised individuals to undertake attacks here in Canada”.

He told legislators the CSIS was aware of at least 50 Canadians involved with IS and other militant groups in the region.

Ottawa said last week it planned to boost the powers of CSIS by giving it the ability to track and investigate potential terrorists when they travelled abroad.

Published in Dawn, October 22nd, 2014