OTTAWA • Canadian police shot dead an alleged Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) sympathiser armed with an explosive device, media reports said, as police confirmed they thwarted a "potential terror threat".

There was no immediate confirmation from Canada's federal police that anyone had been shot, with a statement saying only that a suspect had been identified and that they had taken "action".

"Earlier today, the RCMP received credible information of a potential terrorist threat. A suspect was identified and the proper course of action has been taken to ensure that there is no danger to the public's safety," the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said in a statement.

Media reports said the suspect was 24-year-old Aaron Driver and said he was shot dead during a police raid in Strathroy, a residential area in southern Ontario, which lies about 220km south-west of Toronto. Intelligence sources told Reuters the suspect had also used the alias Harun Abdurahman.

According to a relative who spoke to Canadian broadcaster CBC, police informed the family that Driver was shot dead after detonating an explosive device, injuring himself and one other person, whose condition was unclear.The RCMP said an investigation was under way.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE