inspired suspect in Taylor Swift show plot planned suicide attack
Taylor Swift concerts cancelled after plot foiled
Three Austrian teenagers detained over attack plan
Main 19-year-old suspect supported Islamic State
Adds Austrian chancellor's quotes in paragraphs 5-6
By Alexandra Schwarz-Goerlich and Miranda Murray
VIENNA, Aug 8 (Reuters) -An Austrian teenager arrested over an alleged plot to strike a Taylor Swift concert in Vienna planned to carry out a suicide attack that would have caused a "bloodbath" andhad vowedloyalty to Islamic State (IS), authorities said on Thursday.
The 19-year-old man, who has North Macedonian roots, made a full confession in custody, Austria's general director for public security Franz Ruf told a news conference.
He swore allegiance to the IS group's leader on the internet and had chemicals, machetes and technical devices at his home in the town of Ternitz in preparation for an attack, Ruf added.
The suspect was planning a lethal assault among the estimated 20,000 "Swiftie" fans set to gather outside Vienna'sErnst Happel Stadium, said national intelligence head Omar Haijawi-Pirchner. Two other Austrian youths aged 17 and 15 were detained on Wednesday over the reported plot.
"The main perpetrator has confessed that he was supposed to carry out a suicide attack with two accomplices," said Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer.
"The suspects actually had very specific and detailed plans ... to leave a bloodbath in their wake."
Authorities painted a picture of the main suspect having self-radicalised, transforming his appearance and sharing Islamist propaganda online. He quit his job on July 25, telling people he had "big plans", Ruf said.
One neighbour told Austrian broadcaster Puls24 that the suspect had kept himself to himself and had grown a "Taliban beard".
The 17-year-old suspect had been given a job with a company a few days ago that was providing services at the stadium, according to security officials.
Event organiser Barracuda Music said it had cancelled Swift's three concerts in Vienna, due to start on Thursday for a sold-out 65,000 audience each, in coordination with the singer's management team.
Fans, many of whom had travelled a long way to Vienna, expressed both dismay and understanding.
"It's just heartbreaking, just frustrating. But at the end of the day I guess it's for everyone's safety," said Mark del Rosario, who had flown from the Philippines to see the wildly popular U.S. singer.
MUSIC WORLD ROCKED
U.S. broadcaster ABC cited law enforcement and intelligence sources as saying Austrian authorities had received information about the Swift concert threat from U.S. intelligence.
It quoted the sources as saying that at least one of the suspects had pledged allegiance to ISIS-K, a resurgent wing of IS, on Telegram in June, though the plot was IS-inspired rather than directed by the group's operatives.
Austrian Interior Minister Gerhard Karner said foreign intelligence agencies had helped with the investigation, as Austrian law does not allow monitoring of messenger apps.
Event organiser Live Nation urged fans of Coldplay, which is due to play at the same stadium on Aug. 21, to stay calm and said it was in contact with authorities.
It did not comment on whether the show would take place.
British police said on Thursday there was nothing to indicate that the planned attack in Vienna would have an impact on Swift's shows at Wembley Stadium in London next week.
"Concerts are often a preferred target of Islamist attackers, large concerts," said Karner, listing the 2015 attack on the Bataclan venue in Paris and the 2017 bombing at England's Manchester Arena where U.S. pop star Ariana Grande had played.
The plot in Austria also brought to mind a foiled plan by three IS-linked suspects to attack Vienna's gay pride parade last year.
Islamic State was largely crushed by a U.S.-led coalition several years ago after establishing a "caliphate" in large areas of Iraq and Syria, but has still managed some major attacks while seeking to rebuild and reinvent itself.
This week's shows were to be part of the record-breaking Eras Tour by American singer-songwriter Swiftwhich started on March 17, 2023, in Glendale, Arizona, and is set to conclude on Dec. 8, 2024, in Vancouver, Canada.
Swift, 34, has not yet commented on the cancellations on her official Instagram account, which has 283 million followers.
Her fans were horrified at the threat, with some begging organisersto postpone the concert instead of cancelling it outright. Promoters have said they will pay back tickets.
Reporting by Alexandra Schwarz-Goerlich in Vienna and Miranda Murray, Riham Alkousaa, Rachel More, Sabine Wollrab and Sarah Marsh in Berlin; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne, Sharon Singleton and Mark Heinrich
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تازہ ترين خبريں
دستبرداری: XM Group کے ادارے ہماری آن لائن تجارت کی سہولت تک صرف عملدرآمد کی خدمت اور رسائی مہیا کرتے ہیں، کسی شخص کو ویب سائٹ پر یا اس کے ذریعے دستیاب کانٹینٹ کو دیکھنے اور/یا استعمال کرنے کی اجازت دیتا ہے، اس پر تبدیل یا توسیع کا ارادہ نہیں ہے ، اور نہ ہی یہ تبدیل ہوتا ہے یا اس پر وسعت کریں۔ اس طرح کی رسائی اور استعمال ہمیشہ مشروط ہوتا ہے: (i) شرائط و ضوابط؛ (ii) خطرہ انتباہات؛ اور (iii) مکمل دستبرداری۔ لہذا اس طرح کے مواد کو عام معلومات سے زیادہ کے طور پر فراہم کیا جاتا ہے۔ خاص طور پر، براہ کرم آگاہ رہیں کہ ہماری آن لائن تجارت کی سہولت کے مندرجات نہ تو کوئی درخواست ہے، اور نہ ہی فنانشل مارکیٹ میں کوئی لین دین داخل کرنے کی پیش کش ہے۔ کسی بھی فنانشل مارکیٹ میں تجارت میں آپ کے سرمائے کے لئے ایک خاص سطح کا خطرہ ہوتا ہے۔
ہماری آن لائن تجارتی سہولت پر شائع ہونے والے تمام مٹیریل کا مقصد صرف تعلیمی/معلوماتی مقاصد کے لئے ہے، اور اس میں شامل نہیں ہے — اور نہ ہی اسے فنانشل، سرمایہ کاری ٹیکس یا تجارتی مشورے اور سفارشات؛ یا ہماری تجارتی قیمتوں کا ریکارڈ؛ یا کسی بھی فنانشل انسٹرومنٹ میں لین دین کی پیشکش؛ یا اسکے لئے مانگ؛ یا غیر متنازعہ مالی تشہیرات پر مشتمل سمجھا جانا چاہئے۔
کوئی تھرڈ پارٹی کانٹینٹ، نیز XM کے ذریعہ تیار کردہ کانٹینٹ، جیسے: راۓ، خبریں، تحقیق، تجزیہ، قیمتیں اور دیگر معلومات یا اس ویب سائٹ پر مشتمل تھرڈ پارٹی کے سائٹس کے لنکس کو "جیسے ہے" کی بنیاد پر فراہم کیا جاتا ہے، عام مارکیٹ کی تفسیر کے طور پر، اور سرمایہ کاری کے مشورے کو تشکیل نہ دیں۔ اس حد تک کہ کسی بھی کانٹینٹ کو سرمایہ کاری کی تحقیقات کے طور پر سمجھا جاتا ہے، آپ کو نوٹ کرنا اور قبول کرنا ہوگا کہ یہ کانٹینٹ سرمایہ کاری کی تحقیق کی آزادی کو فروغ دینے کے لئے ڈیزائن کردہ قانونی تقاضوں کے مطابق نہیں ہے اور تیار نہیں کیا گیا ہے، اسی طرح، اس پر غور کیا جائے گا بطور متعلقہ قوانین اور ضوابط کے تحت مارکیٹنگ مواصلات۔ براہ کرم یقینی بنائیں کہ آپ غیر آزاد سرمایہ کاری سے متعلق ہماری اطلاع کو پڑھ اور سمجھ چکے ہیں۔ مذکورہ بالا معلومات کے بارے میں تحقیق اور رسک وارننگ ، جس تک رسائی یہاں حاصل کی جا سکتی ہے۔
