Europe's news in English

COPY LINK

TERRORISM

‘Terror threats’ against Austrian police stations

Austrian authorities said they increased security measures after receiving emailed "terror threats" towards police stations but added there was "no need to panic".

Published: 4 August 2016 14:23 CEST

'Terror threats' against Austrian police stations

Photo: Paul Gillingwater

In addition, the time for the supposed attacks – Thursday morning – mentioned in the message “has now passed”, interior ministry spokesman Karl-Heinz Grundboeck told AFP.

He confirmed a report by The Die Presse daily on its website that the email had, in bad English, made specific mention of Islamic extremists being behind the threats.

“In the morning of August 4, 2016 Austrian security authorities received by email terror threats against police stations in several (Austrian) states,” the interior ministry said.

“Investigations… are taking place. The necessary security measures were increased in a targeted manner. The Austrian security authorities currently see no need to panic,” a statement said.

It added that the email, sent to several police stations, came from an encrypted email address that has been used “several times in the past” for previous threats, without giving further details.

Europe, including Austria, is on high alert after a number of attacks in recent weeks in France and Germany claimed by the extremist Islamic State (IS) group.

Austria has so far not seen any such attacks. The DerStandard newspaper reported on Thursday however that 59 “terror-related” arrests have been made in the country since the start of 2015.

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.

Url copied to clipboard!