Canada attack 'not linked to IS'

There is no evidence so far that a gunman who attacked Canada's capital had links to Middle Eastern Islamist extremists, the government says.

Foreign Minister John Baird told the BBC that Michael Zehaf-Bibeau was "certainly radicalised" but not on a list of high-risk individuals.

Zehaf-Bibeau killed a soldier at Ottawa's war memorial before being shot dead in the nearby parliament building.

Police have released video showing how the gunman stormed parliament.

It has also emerged that Prime Minister Stephen Harper hid in a cupboard in parliament for about 15 minutes during Wednesday's attack as MPs sharpened flagpoles to use as spears against the gunman.

Mr Baird told the BBC there were no substantiated claims yet that Zehaf-Bibeau was associated with Islamic State.

Mr Baird said he was "tremendously concerned about the number of Canadians who are radicalised and are fighting in Syria or Iraq, but we don't have any evidence to link the two at this stage".

"Reports suggest that well in excess of 100 Canadians have gone to fight jihad in the Middle East and that's a huge concern."

Mr Baird also said Zehaf-Bibeau could have done much more damage than he did.

"For several minutes it was complete horror, complete terror, we didn't know whether the door was going to be kicked in, whether there was one or a group of people."

BBC