Police are hunting for more suspects after an ISIS plot to attack a Taylor Swift concert in Austria was foiled and two were arrested.
Terrorists planned to attack the pop star’s concert at Vienna’s Ernst Happel Stadium – where she will perform a sold-out show on Thursday.
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Two suspects, including a 19-year-old man, were detained after authorities found several chemicals and other substances at their Vienna residence.
Both attackers reportedly had detailed plans on how to carry out a mass attack.
Authorities, who received tips from foreign intelligence agencies, asked local residents to evacuate while cordoning off roads during the operation.
Bomb squads are now said to be investigating whether the materials were intended to make explosives.
Franz Ruf, Austrian Director General of Public Security, said of the attack: “A concrete threat was averted.
“The crime suspect was focused on Taylor Swift’s concerts. Preparatory actions were detected.”
One of the suspects is a native Austrian – and was reportedly radicalized by the Islamic terrorist group in June. New York Post Office reports.
Authorities are still investigating the case – and believe there are other suspects involved, according to Austrian media.
It is understood the stadium has not yet been deemed safe for the public.
However, there are no plans to cancel the concert – but visitors “should expect delays”, officials said.
Police said there will be heightened security at the site, including bomb squads and K-9 dogs.
It comes after police foiled a suspected IS terrorist plot ahead of England’s Euro final – raiding a series of addresses just hours before kick-off.
Police officers struck amid fears of an imminent attack on the Three Lions fan zone on Berlin’s sprawling Breitscheidplatz.
Three suspects were detained by German special forces during a series of coordinated attacks in nearby Potsdam.
It has since emerged that police searched three addresses while searching for five men after photos were taken on phones of Breitscheidplatz and a large church.
The men were known to be IS supporters, already under surveillance by German police.
German police also arrested a suspected ISIS terrorist as he tried to sneak into the Euro.
Counter-terrorism investigators captured Soufian T, 23, who allegedly requested a pass as security for “side events” outside the football stadium.
Officers from the Cologne police department, together with investigators from the Bonn State Security Service and the federal police, arrested the German-Moroccan-Polish citizen with his mother and sister at Cologne-Bonn airport.
Several mobile phones and cash worth £2,100 were seized.
What is the Islamic State?
ISIS, also known as the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, is a murderous terrorist network officially formed in 2004.
The group, known for its barbaric public executions and beheadings, was originally part of Al-Qaeda – the terrorists responsible for 9/11, which triggered the decades-long global War on Terror.
They took advantage of the instability in Iraq and Syria after 2000 to rule with an iron fist.
After an injection of American troops into Iraq in 2007, ISIS lost some of its power in the region.
But it began to resurface in 2011 and in 2014 the US formed Operation Inherent Resolve.
The mission involved placing American troops on the ground in Iraq and Syria – as well as in other regions of the Middle East.
In 2014, ISIS was the most powerful, best-equipped and richest Islamic extremist group the world had ever seen.
In 2015, it had branches operating in at least eight other countries.
In October of that year, his Egyptian network bombed a Russian plane and killed more than 220 people.
In November 2015, 130 people were murdered and more than 300 were injured during one of the most brutal attacks against the West, in Paris.
And in June 2016, a gunman who committed to the murderous organization killed at least 48 people in a Florida nightclub.
By December 2017, ISIS had lost 95% of its stolen territory.
But its core ideologies, which included a burning hatred of the Western way of life, continued to inspire countless terrorist attacks around the world.
Although American combat in Iraq officially ended in December 2021, 2,500 soldiers were stationed in the country to work as advisors and trainers for Iraqi security forces trying to fend off extremist forces.
There are believed to be fewer than 1,000 still stationed in Syria.
Three of these American soldiers were killed in Jordan on January 28 – in a drone attack on a US military base near the borders of Syria and Iraq.
The terrorist organization also threatened frightening attacks on the Paris Olympics in a terrifying poster message.
The death cult posted a propaganda image showing one of its terrorists apparently piloting an “armed drone” to attack the iconic Eiffel Tower.
The poster, circulated by ISIS-linked social media channels, was captioned: “The Lone Wolf Olympics began with Allah’s Will.”
France has been on high alert amid a series of vile threats made by Islamic terrorist groups.
Just a few days ago, French anti-terrorism police foiled a plot for an “Islamic-inspired” attack planned for the Olympic Games.
A NEW WAVE OF BLOOD
In recent weeks, ISIS has re-emerged in Europe and the US in a worrying escalation that has put British counter-terrorism experts on high alert.
Will Geddes spoke to The Sun and said he wouldn’t be surprised if the terrorist threat level in the UK increased.
He said: “I would be extremely surprised if we didn’t see a terrorist attack on UK or European soil, certainly in the next few months.”
These concerns stemmed from a horrific attack in Moscow, when four ISIS-K gunmen opened fire on bystanders, massacring more than 140 people and publishing horrific videos of their deaths.
It was the worst Islamic extremist terrorist attack in Europe to date.
Paris is expected to take further measures in the coming months amid growing and frightening threats.
France raised its terrorist threat level to the highest level following the Moscow attack – meaning an attack is “imminent”.
Meanwhile, Western intelligence has revealed how police prevented at least 12 terrorist attacks in the last 12 months across Europe.
Ten jihadist attacks were courageously intercepted and prevented in Europe last year, says Dutch intelligence agency AIVD.
Among the foiled attacks are stabbings at global events and barbaric attacks on specific targeted locations and groups, the annual report revealed.
AIVD, the Dutch agency that produced the report, listed two possible reasons for the high number of attacks last year.
It said: “There were two mobilizing issues: the destruction of the Quran in the Netherlands and other European countries and the conflict between Israel and Hamas.”
“Acute” terrorist threat across Europe
By Jessica Baker, Foreign News Reporter
The threat to Europe’s security from terrorism is “acute”, EU law enforcement agency warns.
Europol said the main concern for EU countries is “jihadi terrorism” and foreign terrorist fighters traveling from conflict zones.
Some fear that the terrorist group ISIS may be trying to leverage the conflict in the Middle East to launch new attacks across Europe.
Ten jihadist attacks have been foiled by police in Europe in the last 12 months alone, according to Dutch intelligence agency AIVD.
The agency alleged that planned and intercepted attacks included stabbings at large events and attacks on specific groups and locations.
Meanwhile, Israel’s spy agency alleges that Iranian terrorist cells are planning attacks across the continent ahead of the Paris Olympics.
The Olympics chief promised a ring of steel at the Games’ opening ceremony and insisted that “security is the priority” to ensure the safety of the expected 15 million fans and more than 10,000 athletes.
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
