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TERRORISM

Two Austrians injured in Egypt stabbing

Two elderly Austrian tourists were among three foreigners injured in a stabbing at a luxury hotel in Egypt's Red Sea resort of Hurghada.

Published: 9 January 2016 09:19 CET
Two Austrians injured in Egypt stabbing
Photo: Bella Vista Hotel

According to foreign ministry sources, the pair were staying at the Bella Vista hotel, when they and a Swedish tourist were attacked by two suspected Islamic State (ISIS) militants.

Security forces were quick to intervene, and killed one of the attackers, seriously wounding the other.  Subsequent reports suggest the second attacker may have died from his injuries.

Hurghada is in a state of high alert, with all roads into the resort town closed while security forces search for other possible suspects.

Spokesman Thomas Schnöll from the Austrian foreign ministry announced that it is sending consular assistance to help the victims, as well as facilitating the travel arrangements for any other Austrians who may wish to leave Egypt urgently.

He further mentioned that the Austrian couple were not seriously wounded, and have now been discharged from hospital.

Austria is considering changing its travel advice regarding the country, in the wake of a series of attacks targeting tourists, with the biggest disaster including the apparent shooting down of a Russian passenger jet by ISIS-affiliated militants, with the loss of 224 lives.

According to witnesses, the attackers were carrying an ISIS flag, and were attempting to kidnap tourists at knifepoint.

The attacker who was killed was apparently wearing a suicide vest.  Both attackers apparently arrived via sea. According to Egyptian authorities, the dead terrorist has been identified as a 21-year-old student from the Giza neighbourhood of Cairo.

Egypt remains in a struggle against Islamic terrorists based in the Sinai Peninsula. The country's tourism industry is in a parlous state after the attacks, with many tourists canceling travel to the region.

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?

Published: 28 March 2024 12:32 CET
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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