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TERRORISM

Vienna ‘jihad’ teenager wants to come home

One of two Viennese teenagers who are thought to be fighting with the militant extremist movement Islamic State (Isis) near Raqqa in Syria wants to return to Austria, according to a report in the Österreich newspaper.

Vienna 'jihad' teenager wants to come home
Sabina (L) and Samra (R). Photo: APA/Interpol

The two girls, 16-year-old Samra and 15-year-old Sabina, are both of Bosnian origin and left Vienna in April, telling their parents in a letter that they wanted to “fight for Islam”.

Samra, who is thought to have married a Chechen, wants to come home according to an inside source, as she has seen too much of the horrors of war.

Both Samra and Sabina are reported to be in an area where they will have experienced public floggings, beheadings and frequent air attacks.

Both girls, but especially Samra, are said to be in contact with their families. Sabina  is reportedly not ready to return to Austria.

Last month Samra was rumoured to have been killed in Syria, but she then got in touch with friends via the social media tool WhatsApp.

Experts warn that an escape from Isis is “virtually impossible”, although a Syrian woman did recently manage to flee from Isis in Turkey.

The Austrian government is working hard to tackle an increasing problem with its residents traveling to conflict zones to participate in holy war, or 'jihad.'  

It has announced a series of measures to restrict the banned Isis organization, as well as proposals to withdraw citizenship or asylum status from returned fighters.

The Interior Ministry estimates 142 Austrians, including 12 women, have so far joined the ranks of jihadists in Syria.

TERRORISM

What is the risk of new terror attacks in Austria?

Following the March 22nd attack in Moscow’s Crocus City Hall that left over 140 dead, European governments are evaluating the threat of terror attacks. Is Austria a target for fresh terrorist attacks?

What is the risk of new terror attacks in Austria?

With responsibility for the Moscow attack being taken by the Islamist terror organisation ISIS-K, national intelligence services are reevaluating the threat posed to targets within their borders. 

‘No concrete threat’

Austrian officials have been quick to give their appraisal of the situation. 

“We currently have the Islamist scene under control,” stressed Omar Haijawi-Pirchner, head of the Directorate of State Security & Intelligence (DSN) – the governmental agency responsible for combatting internal threats – in an interview with the Ö1 Morgenjournal radio programme on Tuesday. 

He continued: “The terrorist attacks in Moscow, for example, definitely increase the risk. But at the moment, we do not see any concrete threat of an attack in Austria,”

Other experts and officials have warned that while there are no concrete threats, Austrians should not be complacent. 

‘Situation is still valid’ 

Interior Minister Gerhard Karner announced tighter security at church festivals during the Easter period, in the days after the attack, and stressed that the high terror alert level introduced after the October 7 Hamas attacks was still in place. 

“This increased risk situation is still valid,” noted Karner.

READ MORE: What does Austria’s raised terror alert mean for the public?

Meanwhile, terror researcher Peter Neumann of King’s College London told ORF’s ‘ZiB 2’ news broadcast on Monday that Austria remains a potential target due to its Central Asian migrant population. 

Neumann noted that countries at most risk are those “in which Tajik and Central Asian diasporas exist and where ISIS-K finds it relatively easy to identify and recruit people”. 

He continued, identifying both Austria and Germany as “countries in which the ISPK is particularly active and which are particularly at risk from terrorist attacks”.

New threats

Austria has not been spared from attacks from homegrown terrorists.

On November 2nd 2020, amid Coronavirus lockdowns, Austrian-born Kujtim Fejzulai shot and killed four, injuring twenty-three others during a shooting spree across Vienna. He was ultimately shot dead by police. 

Fejzulai was already under surveillance by federal authorities for his beliefs and had been released from prison on parole less than a year before. 

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