Canadian parliament attack 'clearly terrorist act'

US Secretary of State John Kerry (L) and Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird participate in a...
US Secretary of State John Kerry (L) and Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird participate in a joint news conference at the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs in Ottawa. REUTERS/Carolyn Kaster/Pool
US Secretary of State John Kerry says an attack on the Canadian parliament last week was clearly a terrorist act.

"Clearly, anybody who walks up in a premeditated way with a loaded rifle and attacks someone in uniform then purposely goes to a parliament, is committing, by commonsense standards, a terrorist act," Kerry told a news briefing after talks in Ottawa with his Canadian counterpart, Foreign Minister John Baird.

Kerry came to Ottawa on his first visit to Canada since becoming secretary of state last year to show solidarity and discuss security issues after an attack on the Canadian parliament in the city on Wednesday in which a soldier was killed, and the killing of another soldier in Quebec on Oct. 20.

Kerry also said Canada and the United States would work to intensify their close security ties, including border security and intelligence sharing.

"Canada and the United States are now in discussions, not with any sense that things weren't done or that there was some information that we didn't somehow share or have, but rather with a view to making certain that every possible stone is turned over and every possible policy is reviewed, because our obligation obviously is to protect our citizens," he said.

Kerry said he was confident that in the coming days and months the two countries would come up with "some tweaks, some changes, some additions that will promote even greater security than we have today."

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