Canadian, 16, held as al-Qaida killer

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Youth reportedly murdered U.S. Special Forces soldier in Afghanistan

A 16-year-old Canadian youth, reportedly tied to al-Qaida, is being held in Afghanistan for the murder of a U.S. Special Forces medic, intelligence sources tell WorldNetDaily.

Reports also said the Toronto-born youth was badly injured in action that resulted in the death of the U.S. soldier, and that he is being held at U.S. military headquarters in Bagram, north of the capital city of Kabul.

Sources said the Canadian government is pressuring Washington for the return of its citizen, while the U.S. government is investigating the death of the Special Forces medic as a potential capital crime.

The youth, whose last name is Khaled but whose first name was not available, has yet to be interrogated regarding the July 28 killing because of his injuries, sources said.

A spokesman for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police told WorldNetDaily he had no information regarding the incident.

But Reynald Doiron, a spokesman for Canada's foreign ministry, said he had "heard of the incident," though he was unable to track down confirmation of specific details by press time.

Meanwhile, Canada's National Post newspaper reported in December that after investigating months of tips and purported sightings, RCMP officials were unable to establish a link between Canada and the Sept. 11 attacks.

The RCMP was responding to an earlier report claiming one of the 9-11 suicide pilots, Marwan Al-Shehhi, lived in an apartment in Toronto.

Al-Shehhi, the FBI says, piloted United Airlines Flight 175, a Boeing 767 that was flown into the south tower of the World Trade Center.

Tensions between the two allies also flared briefly in April after a U.S. Air National Guard pilot flying an F-16 fighter mistakenly bombed a position held by Canadian troops in Afghanistan, killing four and wounding eight.

U.S. military officials said Maj. Harry Schmidt, of the Illinois Air National Guard, acted in haste when he released his 500-pound bomb on the Canadian position. Lawyers for Schmidt said the officer believed he was under attack when he made his bombing run.

American military officials said Schmidt was briefed that Canadian troops would be training in his area of operation on the day of the bombing.

But defenders of the veteran flier said his long-time active-duty status as an F-18 pilot and instructor at the Navy's "Top Gun" school near San Diego made it unlikely he simply erred.

Joseph Farah WorldNetDaily