Police arrested 12 men and five youths on terrorism charges in the Toronto area Friday night, allegedly foiling a potential series of bombings against targets in Southern Ontario, the RCMP says.

The individuals are all residents of Canada, and "for the most part citizens of Canada," said RCMP Asst. Commissioner Mike McDonell said at a Saturday news conference in Toronto.

"The RCMP, in cooperation with our partners through out Integrated National Security Enforcement Team here in Toronto, have arrested individuals who were planning to commit a series of terrorist attacks against solely Canadian targets in Southern Ontario," McDonell said.

"This group posed a real and serious threat. It had the capacity and intent to carry out these attacks."

Charges included participating in or contributing to the activities of a terrorist group, including training or recruiting; the commission of indictable offences, including firearms or explosives, for the benefit of a terrorist group; and providing or making available property for the purposes of terrorism.

Following is a list of the names, ages and cities of the men who have been arrested and can be named:

• Fahim Ahmad, 21, Toronto;
• Zakaria Amara, 20, Mississauga, Ont.;
• Asad Ansari, 21, Mississauga;
• Shareef Abdelhaleen, 30, Mississauga;
• Qayyum Abdul Jamal, 43, Mississauga;
• Mohammed Dirie, 22, Kingston, Ont.;
• Yasim Abdi Mohamed, 24, Kingston;
• Jahmaal James, 23, Toronto;
• Amin Mohamed Durrani, 19, Toronto;
• Steven Vikash Chand alias Abdul Shakur 25, Toronto;
• Ahmad Mustafa Ghany, 21, Mississauga;
• Saad Khalid, 19, of Eclipse Avenue, Mississauga.

Fifteen of the 17 suspects appeared in court in Brampton, Ont. on Saturday afternoon. There was heavy security around the courthouse. Inside the courtroom, the suspects were handcuffed and shackled. Their next hearing is scheduled for Tuesday, when they can apply for bail.

"The court is hot. There are a lot of family members. There's a lot of tears, a lot of waving back and forth," CTV's Denelle Balfour, outside the courthouse, told Newsnet.

"Most of the reaction of family members is shock, and as you can imagine, some of them are very upset."

To enter the courthouse, Balfour said she had to go through three different security checkpoints, one manned by heavily armed officers from tactical squads. "There are snipers on the rooftops," she added.

Because the investigation is ongoing, the RCMP have asked the court to order the men to no contact with each other, Balfour said.

Mohammed Abdelhaleen, father of one of the suspects, told reporters: "Im shocked. It's crazy, it's just crazy. It has no meaning whatsoever."

Police allegations

Police claimed the men had the means to make powerful bombs.

"This group took steps to acquire components necessary to create an explosive device using ammonium nitrate, which is a commonly used fertilizer," McDonell said.

"Three tonnes of ammonium nitrate was ordered by these individuals and delivered to them. It was their intent to use this for a terrorist attack."

By comparison, he said the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing that killed 168 people was completed with only one tonne of ammonium nitrate.

The RCMP would not name any of the suspected bombing targets, but said the Toronto Transit Commission -- a network of public buses, subways and streetcars in Canada's largest city -- was not seen as a potential target.

There are reports of a possible terror training camp in central Ontario.

The Saturday press conference was attended by representatives of all the groups involved in the investigation, including the Peel, York, Durham and Toronto police services, as well as the RCMP and CSIS.

"This has been and continues to be an intensive investigation in which many partners have been involved," McDonell said.

According to the Toronto Star, CSIS has monitored the suspects since 2004, while the RCMP began its investigation last year.

Luc Portelance of CSIS said the suspects come from a variety of backgrounds. Their common denominator, he said, is an adherence to a violent ideology inspired by al Qaeda.

"It is important to note that this operation in no way reflects negatively on any specific community or ethno-cultural group in Canada. Terrorism is a dangerous ideology and a global phenomenon. As yesterday's arrests confirm, Canada is not immune from this ideology."

U.S. role

The Canadian Press cited a source who requested anonymity that information from the U.S. helped the investigation.

Two Americans from the Atlanta, Ga. region reportedly travelled to Toronto in March 2005. While there, they met with other so-called persons of interest and allegedly discussed terror training and bombing plots against military facilities and oil refineries, CP said.

"There is preliminary indication that some of the Canadian subjects may have had limited contact with the two people recently arrested from Georgia,'' FBI Special Agent Richard Kolko said in a statement.

"As always, we will work with our international partners to review any intelligence gathered and will conduct any appropriate investigation.''

Kolko told CP the two countries have been working together on the case for some time.

With a report from CTV's Denelle Balfour and files from The Canadian Press