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ByTraceyLindeman and Rob Gillies The Associated Press QUEBEC CITY The27-year- old suspect in a terrorist at- tack against Muslims at a Quebec City mosque was charged Monday with six counts of first degree mur- der and five counts of at- tempted murder. Alexandre Bissonnette was known for taking right-wing, nationalist po- sitions and supporting the French far-right party of Marine Le Pen. The shoot- ing during evening prayers Sunday left six people dead in an attack that Canada's prime minister called an act of terrorism against Muslims. Bissonnette has Le Pen and U.S. President Donald Trump as likes on his Face- book profile, and François Deschamps, an official with a refugee advocacy group, said he was known for his far-right views. "It's with pain and anger that we learn the identity of terrorist Alexandre Bis- sonnette, unfortunately known to many activists in Quebec for taking na- tionalist, pro-Le Pen and anti-feminist positions at Laval University and on social media," he wrote on the Facebook page of the group, Bienvenues aux Refugiés, or Welcome to Refugees. More than 50 people were at the Quebec Islamic Cultural Centre when the shooting erupted. In ad- dition to the six who died, five were in critical condi- tion and 12 others suffered minor injuries, University of Quebec Hospital Centre spokeswoman Genevieve Dupuis said Monday. The dead ranged in age from 39 to 60. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Quebec Pre- mier Philippe Couillard both characterized the at- tack as a terrorist act, which came amid height- ened tensions worldwide over Trump's travel ban on seven Muslim countries. Trudeau said in Parlia- ment the victims were tar- geted simply because of their religion and spoke di- rectly to the more than 1 million Muslims who live in Canada, saying, "We are with you." "Thirty-six million hearts are breaking with yours," Trudeau said. "Know that we value you." The suspect was ar- rested in his car on a bridge near d'Orleans, where he called 911 to say he wanted to cooperate with police. Authorities, who initially named two suspects, said the other man taken into custody was a witness to the at- tack and was released ear- lier Monday. They said they did not believe there were other suspects but were in- vestigating. Police did not give a mo- tive for the attack. Trump called Trudeau to express condolences to the Canadian people and to offer any assistance that might be needed. The White House pointed to the attack as an exam- ple of why Trump's policies were needed. "We condemn this attack in the strongest possible terms. It's a ter- rible reminder of why we must remain vigilant and why the president is tak- ing steps to be pro-active, rather than reactive when it comes to our nation's safety and security," White House spokesman Sean Spicer said. The victims were busi- nessmen, a university pro- fessor and others who had gathered for evening prayers, said Mohamed La- bidi, the vice president of the mosque. "'It's a very, very big trag- edy for us," Labidi said tear- fully. "We have a sadness we cannot express." He said the victims were shot in the back. Canada is generally welcoming toward immi- grants and all religions, but the French-speaking province of Quebec has had a long-simmering de- bate about race and reli- gious accommodation. The previous separatist govern- ment of the province called for a ban on ostentatious religious symbols, such as the hijab, in public institu- tions. CANADA 6 counts of murder for mosque attack suspect JACQUESBOISSINOT—THECANADIANPRESS Mohamed Labibi, president of the Islamic cultural center, is comforted by Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard, le , and Quebec City mayor Regis Labeaume, right, during a news conference Monday about the fatal shooting at the Quebec Islamic Cultural Centre. By Bassem Mroue The Associated Press BEIRUT Syria warned Monday of safe zones for civilians that U.S. Presi- dent Donald Trump has expressed interest in cre- ating, saying it would have to come in coordi- nation with the Syrian government, otherwise it would be unsafe and vio- late the Arab nation's sov- ereignty. The announcement was made in Damascus by For- eign Minister Walid al- Moallem during a meet- ing with the head of the U.N. refugee agency UN- HCR, Filippo Grandi, who began an official visit to Syria on Monday. Theannouncementcame about a week after the Trump administration's ex- pressed interest in setting up safe zones for civilians in war-torn Syria, an idea that was greeted with cau- tion by Russia and Turkey, who have taken the lead in the latest peace efforts to end the Mideast country's devastating six-year war. The idea of safe zones, proposed by both Repub- lican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clin- ton during the U.S. pres- idential election cam- paign, was ruled out by the Obama administration for fear it would put U.S. air- craft in harm's way with Russia waging an air cam- paign to aid Syrian Presi- dent Bashar Assad's forces since September 2015. The recent rapproche- ment between Russia and Turkey, a key backer of Syr- ian rebels which now has thousands of troops in northern Syria, in theory makes the creation of safe zones more achievable. So does Trump's pledge to mend ties with Moscow. However, Syrian state news agency, SANA, said the foreign ministry and UNHCR officials agreed that any attempt to impose safe zones without coordi- nation with the Syrian gov- ernment will be an "unsafe actandwillposeaviolation of the Syrian sovereignty." Meanwhile, Al-Moal- lem called on all Syrians refugees who fled the war in their homeland to re- turn home, pledging that the government will meet all their needs. It was not clear if the call was re- lated to Trump's signing of executive orders plac- ing a 90-day ban on travel to the U.S. by citizens of Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia or Yemen, and a 120-day suspension of the U.S. refugee pro- gram. Syrians are indefi- nitely blocked from entry. Syria's conflict, which began in March 2011, has displaced half the coun- try's population and sent more than four million Syrians as refugees, mostly to neighboring countries. SANA said al-Moal- lem briefed Grandi on the "huge efforts" the Syrian government is exerting to improve the living condi- tions of its people and the displaced as well. Syria warns of setting up s af e zo ne s fo r civilians as unsafe MIDDLE EAST TUESDAY, JANUARY 31, 2017 REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM | NEWS | 5 B