CIA Provided Crucial Clues to Attack Plans at Swift Concert in Vienna
The CIA has confirmed that it provided the decisive tip-off to prevent a possible attack on a Taylor Swift concert in Vienna. Information had been received about four people with links to the Islamic State (IS) terrorist militia who were planning an attack.
The U.S. secret intelligence service CIA has confirmed that it provided the decisive clue to prevent a possible attack on a Taylor Swift concert in Vienna. / Picture: © Wikimedia Commons, Carol M. Highsmith Archive, Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Public domain
At the beginning of August, Vienna was the scene of a foiled terrorist attack that could have endangered the lives of tens of thousands of people. A planned attack on a Taylor Swift concert in Vienna's Ernst Happel Stadium was successfully prevented in a joint operation by the Austrian authorities and the US Secret Service, the CIA. The severity of the threat and the international cooperation that led to it being averted highlight the ongoing threat of Islamist terror in Europe.
David S. Cohen, deputy director of the CIA, announced Wednesday during the annual Intelligence and National Security Summit in Washington that the CIA had provided critical information that enabled Austrian authorities to thwart the planned attack. “The attackers planned to kill a large number of people - tens of thousands at this concert, including, I'm sure, many Americans,” Cohen said. Taylor Swift's concerts, due to take place in Vienna on August 8, 9, and 10, were subsequently canceled at short notice after it became clear that the security situation was serious. “The Austrians were able to make those arrests because the agency and our partners in the intelligence community provided them information about what this ISIS-connected group was planning to do,” he added.
On August 7, the Austrian security authorities succeeded in arresting two men suspected of planning the attack. A 19-year-old prime suspect was arrested in Ternitz, Lower Austria, while another suspect was apprehended in Vienna. A third alleged perpetrator, an 18-year-old Iraqi citizen, was arrested on August 8. According to the investigation, the 19-year-old, who is believed to be the mastermind of the planned attack, had already been under surveillance since August 2 after partner services provided information about his links to the Islamic State (IS).
According to a report by the Directorate of State Security and Intelligence (DSN), the suspects planned to carry out the attack using various means. The main suspect attempted to obtain a firearm and planned to attack with knives if this was unsuccessful. It also became known that the 19-year-old wanted to drive as close as possible to the stadium in a vehicle, pretending to be a police officer or a plainclothes officer, to kill fans in front of the stadium. His 17-year-old accomplice was to be involved in setting up the stage and thus gain access to the inner area of the stadium.
During a search of the main suspect's home, investigators found chemicals suitable for making a bomb. Over 40 officers, including explosives specialists and robot dogs, were involved in the raid. Even though the main suspect's defense tries to relativize the dangerousness of the materials found using a private expert opinion, the Austrian security authorities contradict this account. A quick analysis by experts from the Ministry of the Interior revealed that it would have been perfectly possible to build a functioning bomb with the confiscated chemicals.
In the USA there is no doubt about the seriousness of the terror plans, while in Austria there are differing opinions about the actual extent of the threat. Omar Haijawi-Pirchner, the director of the Austrian State Security and Intelligence Service (DSN), explained in an interview, as reported by “DerStandard”, that the Austrian authorities are convinced they have prevented a large-scale attack. The investigation had shown that the planned attack might have had the potential to cause a catastrophe with many victims.
The case also triggered a renewed discussion about the need for extended surveillance measures, as reported by “DerStandard”. Haijawi-Pirchner spoke out in favor of enabling the monitoring of messenger services in real-time in order to have better control over the communications of potential threats. The director emphasized that the planning of terrorist attacks often takes place in encrypted chats, which currently cannot be adequately monitored. This call for more monitoring options was also made against the backdrop of further cases of radicalization in Austria.
In Lower Austria, three young people between the ages of 16 and 19 were recently arrested following house searches, as reported by “DerStandard”. They are suspected of spreading IS propaganda on social media such as Instagram and TikTok. The investigations into the young people, who come from the districts of Tulln and St. Pölten, are still ongoing. However, the authorities emphasize that there is no evidence of an organized IS cell in Lower Austria and that the radicalization probably took place via digital networks.
Following the incident, Taylor Swift thanked the authorities for their work and expressed her relief that the safety of fans was ensured, as reported by ORF. “Thanks to the investigators, we mourn concerts and not lives,” she wrote in a post on Instagram. After the brief interruption, Swift continued her tour on August 15 at London's Wembley Stadium.