Canadian police are expecting to arrest more suspects after 17 were detained on terrorism charges for allegedly plotting bombings in and around Toronto, the country 's business centre and largest city.

Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Assistant Commissioner Mike McDonell and Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day both said Monday the investigation is not finished and there could be more arrests ahead.

"The RCMP and CSIS (Canadian Security Intelligence Service) 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.

McDonell told reporters that said the arrests were imminent, possibly coming this week.

The 12 adults and five youths were arrested on the weekend in a sweeping police raid in Toronto suburbs, the second such operation after a similar move in 2003, when 23 people were arrested for allegedly being connected with al-Qaeda.

Police accuse the suspects arrested Friday night 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.

The suspects are charged with a variety of offences, including knowingly participating in a terrorist group and either receiving or providing terrorist training.

Investigators identified the suspects as individuals who were " inspired by al-Qaeda."

Police have refused to 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 daily newspaper Globe and Mail, the targets included political and economic symbols including the Parliament Buildings and Peace Tower in capital Ottawa, along with the CN Tower and Toronto Stock Exchange in Toronto.

CN tower, at 553 meters high, is the world's tallest building and Canada's most recognizable architectural landmark.

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

Source: Xinhua