Canada Raises Terror Threat Level Because of Isis 'Lone Wolf' Attack on Two Soldiers

Canada has raised the terror threat level in the country from low to medium following a deadly "lone-wolf" attack on two soldiers and an increase in "general chatter" from Islamist groups such as Isis [Islamic State] and al-Qaida.

"This increase is not the result of a specific threat," said Jean-Christophe de Le Rue, a spokesman for Public Safety Minister Steven Blaney.

De Le Rue added that the new terrorist threat level meant Canadian intelligence services had "indicated an individual or group within Canada or abroad has the intent and capability to commit an act of terrorism".

The decision comes after a Canadian man was shot dead by police after running down two soldiers, killing one, with his car after becoming influenced by radical Islam.

Martin Couture-Rouleau of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec, was shot dead at the end of a high-speed police chase near Montreal.

He had struck two members of the Canadian Armed Forces with his car at a car park in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, about 26 miles (42km) southeast of Montreal, and then fled the scene.

A friend of Couture-Rouleau's suggested that he had carried out the attack in response to an appeal by IS for jihadi sympathisers across the world to launch 'lone wolf' attacks on westerners "wherever they can be found".

A number of North Americans have travelled to the Middle East to fight for IS and other jihadist groups.

The FBI have appealed to North Americans to help identify a militant who appears in a video speaking in what appears to be an American or Canadian accent.

This month, Canada joined air strikes against IS in Iraq following a request for assistance by the US.