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Also listed was Algerian terrorist Mokhtar Belmokhtar’s faction, Al-Muwaqi-un Bil Dima, which staged the deadly attack on the In Amenas gas plant in January. Two of the terrorists killed in the operation were young Canadians.

While Canada has been supporting the Syrian opposition, it has also expressed concern over the growing role played by such extremist groups as Jabhat Al-Nusra, which want to impose their harsh, intolerance version of Islamic law on Syrians.

Canadian authorities are also worried that citizens who have travelled to Syria to fight will return home to spread extremist ideology, recruit others and possibly conduct attacks on Canadian soil.

On Thursday, the head of MI-5, Andrew Parker, testified that the number of Britons fighting in Syria was in the “low hundreds.” He said he was concerned they might turn against the U.K. once they returned.

Most of them will not, but some may

“Most of them will not, but some may,” he said. They could also be anointed as heroes in their communities, further fuelling the country’s Islamist radicalization problem, he said. “That may happen.”

The Canadian Security Intelligence Service declined to say how many Canadians were fighting in Syria. But sources suggest it is in the dozens and that Syria has become the biggest attraction for jihadists since Afghanistan.

Among those killed in Syria was Ali Dirie, a Somali-Canadian who was imprisoned for his role in the Toronto 18 terrorist group that plotted attacks in Southern Ontario. After serving his sentence, he travelled to Syria and joined an extremist group, possibly Jabhat Al-Nusra.

CSIS and the RCMP are also investigating Damian Clairmont, a Muslim convert from Calgary who left for Syria last year. “I am where I am because I believe in something,” the high school dropout, who survived a failed suicide attempt, told the National Post last summer.

National Post

• Email: sbell@nationalpost.com | Twitter: StewartBellNP