The group that represents Canada's Tamil community fears a backlash following the arrests this week of men alleged to be linked to the Tamil Tigers.

At least six Canadians have been arrested in connection with an alleged plot to obtain weapons for the Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka, a listed terrorist organization.

Following those arrests, the Canadian Tamil Congress on Thursday urged caution about making assumptions about the entire community.

"It's an isolated incident," said David Poopalapillai, national spokesperson for the congress.

"We are a very law-abiding society. We don't condone violence, we don't condone any illegal activities. We are here to promote peace."

In the latest development in the case, two more arrests were carried out in the Greater Toronto Area this week, bringing to 11 the total number of arrests made in Canada and in the United States since last week.

Piratheepan Nadarajah, 30, and Ramanan Mylvaganam, 29, were picked up by police at the request of U.S. authorities.

"We arrested them on behalf of what's called a provisional warrant,'' said RCMP Sgt. Michele Paradis. "It allows arrests to be made based on charges from countries other than our own.''

Nadarajah, arrested yesterday, is to appear in a Brampton court today.

Mylvaganam, nabbed Tuesday, was in court yesterday and was remanded to Friday.

Paradis said an extradition hearing would be held at some time in the future.

On Monday, police picked up Suresh Sriskandarajah, 26, in Kitchener, Ont., on a provisional warrant.

U.S. prosecutors allege that Sriskandarajah and Mylvaganam used their studies at the University of Waterloo as a cover for terrorist activities.

U.S. officials claim the men approached high-tech companies for equipment they claimed was for "school projects" but was actually for Tamil fighters in Sri Lanka, according to a report in The Globe and Mail.

A U.S. indictment unsealed in New York says the used students to smuggle the goods to rebels, and alleges they were part of a larger scheme to obtain "aviation equipment, submarine and warship design software, and communications equipment" for the Tamil Tigers, The Globe reported.

Eight others were arrested in the United States in the massive sting operation, including three Canadians -- Sathajhan Sarachandran, Sahilal Sabaratnam, and Thiruthanikan Thanigasalam.

American authorities allege Sarachandran, Sabaratnam, and Thanigasalam travelled to New York from Canada to try to buy $900,000 worth of missiles, launchers and AK-47s, according to the U.S. indictment.

The three men and Sriskandarajah and Mylvaganam have been charged with one count of conspiring to provide material support and resources to the Tamil Tigers.

The allegations against Nadarajah have not been released.

In a related sting, the FBI arrested five American Tamils this week on suspicion of trying to bribe U.S. State Department officials into lifting the terrorist ban on the Tamil Tigers.

The charges against the men include fundraising and money laundering through "front" charitable organizations and U.S. bank accounts.

The Canadian Tamil Congress also pleaded with Canadians to learn more about the conflict in Sri Lanka and to better understand Tamil people's suffering -- and to not assume the Tamil Tigers are synonymous with all Tamils.

As many as 65,000 people have been killed in the Tamil Tigers' two-decade war with the Sri Lankan government.

A ceasefire was brokered in 2002 to end the bloodshed, but both sides have since returned to fighting, with some of the fiercest violence occurring this year.

The Tamil Tigers are considered a terrorist organization by Canada and the United States.

Canada added the Tamil Tigers to its official list of terrorist organizations in April. The U.S. added the group to its own list in 1997.