Canadian officials have charged a woman with trying to smuggle parts for AR-15 rifles to Hizballah operatives in Lebanon. Mouna Diab, 26, originally was arrested in May 2011 as she tried to leave Canada with the parts in her luggage, and later charged with exporting gun parts, a Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) statement said.

Further investigation determined Diab was following instructions from a Hizballah operative. In addition, she persuaded others in her community to carry weapons parts in their own travels to Lebanon, but the statement said "that her victims were unaware of what was in the packages."

Diab is the first woman charged under anti-terror laws Canada enacted after 9/11, reports Stewart Bell at the National Post. She formerly served as vice-president of the Association of Young Lebanese Muslims, Bell reported, saying the group worked to fight "hurtful" stereotypes against Muslims.

Canada has listed Hizballah as a terrorist group since 2002, the RCMP release noted. It is part of the agency's mandate to investigate support for terrorist groups in Canada. "In doing so, the RCMP plays a crucial role in reducing threats posed to national security, whether they are in Canada or elsewhere in the world," the statement on Diab's arrest said.

Hizballah support in North America is well established and often involves criminal activity ranging from fraud and other financial crimes to supplying weapons and other military supplies.