More arrests are expected after 17 suspects were detained under the Anti-terrorism Act for allegedlly plotting bombings in Ontario, as further details — including possible targets — emerged Monday.

When asked if more arrests were imminent, RCMP Assistant Commissioner Mike McDonell told CBC News: "I believe so. This investigation is not finished."

RCMP Assistant Commissioner Mike McDonell says there could be more arrests ahead. 'This investigation is not finished.'
(CBC)

The 12 adults and five youths who were arrested on the weekend are scheduled to appear in court Tuesday for a bail hearing.

They were charged on June 3 with a variety of offences — including knowingly participating in a terrorist group and either receiving or providing terrorist training — following an investigation that involved more than 400 intelligence agents and police officers.

Investigators identified the suspects as individuals who were "inspired by al-Qaeda," the Islamic militant group that took credit for Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the United States.

Mohammhed Abdelhaleen, the father of suspect Shareef Abdelhaleen, leaves a court house after a hearing in Brampton, Ont., on June, 3, 2006.
(Nathan Denette/Canadian Press)

'There's still people that they're talking to': Day

Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day said more arrests could come this week.

"The RCMP and CSIS have both indicated that discussions are ongoing and there's still people that they're talking to," Day said in an interview with Global National.

Police accuse the suspects of planning to use bombs made from ammonium nitrate, a common fertilizer. They are alleged to have bought three tonnes of ammonium nitrate — three times the amount used in the bombing of a U.S. government building in Oklahoma City that killed 168 people in 1995 —  from undercover officers.

The suspects range in age from 19 to 43 and are all residents of Ontario, from Toronto, Mississauga and Markham.

Two of the men charged were already in custody at a prison in Kingston, Ont. They were caught trying to smuggle guns across the U.S. border in August 2005.

Targets reportedly included Parliament Buildings

Police will not disclose the intended targets of the alleged attacks, confirming only that the Toronto Transit Commission's subway lines were not on the list.

But according to the Globe and Mail, the targets included political and economic symbols including the Parliament Buildings and Peace Tower in Ottawa, along with the CN Tower and Toronto Stock Exchange in Toronto.

The downtown Toronto office of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service was also reported as a possible target.

Men in camouflage trained in woods

According to published reports, a property in the small Ontario town of Washago was used as a training ground by the suspects.

Residents reported seeing men dressed in camouflage and hearing gunshots come from the wooded area, about 150 kilometres north of Toronto.

The internet apparently played a vital role and may have sparked the investigation. The Toronto Star reports that in 2004, tech-savvy spies noticed some teens spending more time visiting extremist websites promoting anti-Western sentiment.

That sparked a probe by CSIS that eventually unravelled the alleged plan.

Other sources say farm supply salesmen became suspicious when unlikely looking customers kept buying up bags of fertilizer. They called police, who organized a massive sting operation that nabbed the suspects with three tonnes of fertilizer and a cell phone hooked to a sophisticated detonator.

The Toronto Star reported that police actually sold the suspects a harmless chemical that only looked like ammonium nitrate.

Toronto police urge tolerance

Meanwhile, Toronto's police chief is urging for calm after a Toronto mosque was vandalized over the weekend.

Chief Bill Blair said anger over the allegations should not be directed at the Muslim community.

"In the interim, I hope that we can all work together to maintain the respect and trust and peace of our communities together," Blair said.