Canada’s prime minister Stephen Harper promised to redouble anti-terror efforts after a gunman rampaged through parliament before being shot dead.
The gunman, identified as Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, shot and killed a soldier at an Ottawa war memorial before entering parliament.
On Monday, a Muslim convert killed a soldier in Quebec.
Mr Harper described that earlier attack as a plot inspired by the Islamic State (IS) militant group.
Earlier this month, Canada announced plans to join the US-led campaign of air strikes against Islamic State (IS) militants in Iraq. However, there is no official confirmation that any of this week’s attacks are directly linked to IS or the new military campaign.
The attack began on Wednesday morning, as two soldiers guarding the memorial came under fire from a man carrying a rifle. One soldier, Cpl Nathan Cirillo, died of his injuries. Three other people were treated in hospital and released by evening.
Minutes after the attack at the memorial, dozens of shots were fired inside the parliament building.
In a televised address late on Wednesday, Mr Harper said: “We will not be intimidated. Canada will never be intimidated.
“In fact, this will lead us to strengthen our resolve and redouble our efforts… to take all necessary steps to identify and counter threats and keep Canada safe.”
Mr Harper stressed that the perpetrators “will have no safe haven” in Canada, but admitted the attacks showed that the country was “not immune to terrorist attacks”.
Mr Harper had been meeting MPs at the time of the shooting, but was safely evacuated.
Credit: BBC
