OTTAWA (CP) - A suspected accomplice in a plot to bomb tunnels in New York City was questioned by RCMP for an entire day and remains under surveillance in Montreal, The Canadian Press has learned. A source familiar with the investigation said the man is a friend of Assem Hammoud, pegged by U.S. authorities as a key figure in the purported scheme to flood lower Manhattan by blowing up commuter tunnels. The 31-year-old Hammoud, who taught business ethics and human resources courses at a Beirut school, earned a commerce degree from Montreal's Concordia University four years ago after seven years of study in Canada. Eight al-Qaida-linked suspects, one of them reported to be a Canadian, had hoped to wage the attack on New York's tunnel system in October or November, U.S. officials say. But the plan had not progressed beyond the planning stages. Three people, including Hammoud, have been arrested.
The Canadian was not named by authorities. However, CP reported Friday that Canadian police questioned a man they suspected of active involvement in the alleged conspiracy. He was released because there wasn't enough evidence to hold him. Still, sources say Canadian authorities are actively pursuing leads as part of a six-country investigation into the alleged plot.