20141208-065504.html

JOHN MAGUIRE IN ISIS VIDEO

Credits: Screen capture from Internet Archives

AEDAN HELMER | QMI AGENCY

OTTAWA -- A chilling propaganda video has emerged containing a dire warning to Canadians from a city man who claims to be fighting alongside ISIS militants.

Dressed in the garb of the mujahideen, John Maguire, who does not appear to be reading from script, spews extremist rhetoric through a six-minute video posted to YouTube -- later taken down -- and linked on several jihadist websites.

QMI Agency reported in August that Maguire, 23, disappeared last year and his family was told by law enforcement he had purchased a one-way ticket to Syria. He is believed to have been radicalized while still living in Canada.

In the video released Sunday, Maguire is identified by his mujahideen name, Abu Anwar al-Canadi, as he stands under the ISIS flag amid rubble believed to be in Syria.

He describes his early life growing up in Canada as that of a "typical Canadian" -- playing hockey or performing in local punk bands -- while unleashing a venomous rant against the West, justifying the homegrown terrorist attacks that killed Cpl. Nathan Cirillo and Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent as "direct retaliation" for Canada's combat role in Iraq.

He then warns: "Your people will be indiscriminately targeted, as you indiscriminately target our people."

According to media reports in August, Maguire studied engineering at the University of Ottawa.
Former friends told QMI Agency at the time that they began to notice Maguire's troubling obsession with jihadist propaganda relayed via Facebook.

"(His posts) were usually about having to enforce Sharia (Muslim religious law) using violence and how both Muslims and non-Muslims who don't fight for their cause will be punished in the after-life," a former friend, who didn't want his name used told QMI Agency in August.

He said he used to work with Maguire at an independent grocery store in the Ottawa area.

He said Maguire's Facebook posts were increasingly alarming, to the point where he no longer wanted anything to do with the man.

Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Steven Blaney, who has championed a bill that would expand the anti-terrorism powers of Canada's domestic spy agency, reacted to the video Sunday by saying: "Terrorism remains a real and serious threat to Canadians, which is why we must remain vigilant.

"That is why we are taking part in the coalition that is currently conducting airstrikes against ISIS, and supporting the security forces in Iraq in their fight against this terrorist scourge. It is also the reason that we are working very determinedly to strengthen the tools available to the police and intelligence community to better protect us."

-- With files from Jessica Hume