He wanted to blow himself up in the middle of the crowd in the hall. Islamist admits planning attack on Taylor Swift concert – News

The youth, who was arrested on Wednesday, was radicalized on the Internet and recently pledged allegiance to the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group. According to authorities, he resigned on July 25 and said he was up to something big. From then on, he concentrated fully on the preparation of the attack.

“Both the 19-year-old and the 17-year-old were born in Austria, the parents of the older one have roots in North Macedonia. The younger of the two detainees even worked directly at the stadium,” wrote the Austrian website The Crown Gazette.

The older of the couple, who was arrested in the city of Ternitz, wanted to blow himself up in the middle of the crowd in the hall, according to the website. The suspect was arrested by the police right in front of the stadium, the newspaper wrote.

“Mohammed, nicknamed Mo, is known to have a beard, a big build and a golfer. According to the youth of the area, he always walked around Ternitz alone and did not hang out with anyone,” Kronen Zeitung wrote about the elder of the detainees.

A tragedy has been avoided, but the situation remains serious, Austrian Interior Minister Gerhard Karner said on Thursday. In Austria, after the threat of an attack on the Vienna concerts of American pop star Taylor Swift was averted, the second highest level of terror alert is in place.

In addition to explosives, machetes, knives, as well as more than 20,000 counterfeit euros and Islamist propaganda materials were found in Mohammed’s apartment in Ternitz, Eastern Austria.

Another 17-year-old suspect, who was also detained by police on Wednesday, according to the authorities, has made a significant change in his social connections, including breaking up with his girlfriend. Austrian police are not looking for anyone else at the moment.

Minister of the Interior Karner also said that, throughout Europe, the threat of Islamic actions has increased significantly since last year’s attack on Israel by the Palestinian terrorist movement Hamas. He called for more powers for the Alpine country’s secret services and police, which can no longer monitor communications on internet platforms such as Telegram.