CANADA: Attack on transit bus by a Muslim is being treated as an act of terrorism

Abdul Aziz Kawam was initially charged with attempted murder for allegedly slashing a bus passenger’s throat on Saturday morning, but prosecutors added four counts of terrorism on Monday. A second victim was also allegedly assaulted with a knife. The charges allege the attacks were carried out for the Islamic State (ISIS) terror group.

Global News (h/t ClassyInfidel) The incident took place at just after 9:30 a.m. when a man flashed a knife at a bus stop, then boarded a Coast Mountain bus and conducted an attack on board. The victim was badly injured but survived.

Described at first as a random attack following an altercation, the case took a turn when B.C.’s Integrated National Security Enforcement Team was called in. The new charges allege the attacks were committed “for the benefit of, at the direction of, or in association with a terrorist group, to wit: the Islamic State,” according to B.C. provincial court records.

Kawam, who was born in 1995 and also goes by Abdulaziz, was already facing four counts: attempted murder, possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose, and two assaults with a weapon causing bodily harm. The addition of the terrorism charges means he could face a life sentence.

The B.C. case suggests the continued threat posed by low-level terrorism using everyday objects as weapons, as well as the lingering impact of ultra-violent ISIS ideology.