Islamic State terrorist (file)
Islamic State terrorist (file)Reuters

Canada’s federal government on Tuesday raised its internal threat level due to an increase in “general chatter from radical Islamist organizations” such as the Islamic State (ISIS), the Canadian Press reports.

Jason Tamming, a spokesman for Public Safety Minister Steven Blaney, said the move means intelligence has indicated an individual or group within Canada or abroad has the intent and capability to commit an act of terrorism.

He added, however, the alert was not the result of a specific threat.

The news comes as the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) revealed that a man who drove a car into two soldiers had been arrested by the Mounties this summer.

The federal government has linked the incident to terrorist ideology.

The RCMP said the investigation into the man, Martin Rouleau-Couture, began last June when they saw on his Facebook account he was “radicalizing” himself.

An RCMP spokeswoman quoted by Canadian Press said, however, that police could not arrest someone for having radical thoughts.

Roulleau apparently tried to join ISIS in Iraq, according to the Toronto Star, but was prevented from leaving Canada by Border officials. Border police had had his name listed as a potential Islamist and prevented him from leaving due to security concerns, officials said.

The attack surfaces after a number of Westerners released an ISIS propaganda video threatening their countries of origin and calling on Islamists abroad to join the group in Iraq and Syria. 

Several weeks ago, the group also published guidelines for Muslims in Canada and elsewhere to carry out terror attacks abroad, "in any way possible," encouraging them to kill "non-believers" - specifically military personnel.

A report recently released by the Canadian Ministry of Public Safety detailed the troubling phenomenon of Canadians traveling to the Middle East to join in jihad - and later return to potentially conduct attacks.

"As of early 2014, the Government was aware of more than 130 individuals with Canadian connections who were abroad and who were suspected of terrorism-related activities," noted the report.

That threat was recently illustrated as two brothers from Calgary were identified as members of ISIS in Syria. The two are recent converts to Islam.