Canadian Deputy Prime Minister John Manley said Friday Canada shares US concerns about a potential revival of the al-Qaeda terrorism as the second anniversary of Sept. 11 attacks approaches,

His comments come on the heels of new warnings about potential attacks including the possibility of air hijackings in Canada.

Manley told reporters that he had been in touch with Tom Ridge,the US homeland security chief, about American fears terrorists could again try to use planes "as bombs."

As the second anniversary of the Sept. 11 hijackings approaches,the US Department of Homeland Security has issued an advisory indicating operatives might try to hijack flights that fly near, but not into, the United States.

Manley agreed that description fits flights originating in Canada. He also confirmed Ridge had contacted him in advance of the advisory to give him a personal heads-up.

"He was alerting me to their concerns about that and asking that we have further discussions about ensuring that all of the adequate security measures that we've talked about, and many of which we have implemented, are in fact being implemented," Manley said.

After the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, which killed some 3,000 people in New York, the United States and Canada announced a 2-billion-dollar initiative to increase security at Canada's airports over five years.

Manley also said while there is no evidence of a specific or imminent threat, Canadians should not think of themselves as exempt from such possibilities.

Fears of a possible terrorist attack inside Canada increased inmid-August, after a group of men from Pakistan and India were arrested in the Toronto area by a federal anti-terrorism task force.

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