ISIS fighter from Ottawa appears in video threatening Canada with attacks ‘where it hurts you the most’
John Maguire's ISIS video urges attacks on Canadian soil
ISIS attempted to incite further attacks against Canadians on Sunday, issuing a propaganda video in which an Ottawa extremist scolded the government for joining the international military coalition fighting the terrorist group.
File John Maguire's yearbook photo from the NGDHS Yearbook, 2005-2006.
The six-minute video said Canadians would be indiscriminately targeted and that Muslims were obliged to either join ISIS or “follow the example” of the attackers who struck in Ottawa and Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que.
“You either pack your bags, or prepare your explosive devices. You either purchase your airline ticket, or you sharpen your knife,” said the video, produced by a propaganda group linked to the Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham.
The speaker identified himself as Abu Anwar al-Canadi, but five former friends said they recognized him as John Maguire, a University of Ottawa dropout who converted to Islam and became radicalized before vanishing last year.
“To think a person who I used to stand next to in prayer three years ago would turn out like this is unbelievable,” a former university acquaintance, who disagreed with Mr. Maguire’s extremist views, said after watching the video.
