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TERRORISM

Moroccan terror suspect extradited to Austria

A Moroccan man arrested in Brussels in July is being held in Austria, suspected of having links to the jihadist cell responsible for the Paris attacks last November, a spokesman for the Belgian federal prosecutor told AFP on Monday.

Moroccan terror suspect extradited to Austria
Photo: Facebook page of the suspect

The suspect, Abid Tabaouni, was detained under a European arrest warrant from Austria after he had fled from Salzburg and was handed back to Austrian authorities last month.

The Belgian prosecutor's spokesman Thierry Werts, said that the handover was done quickly as “we confirmed that he did not have any ties to our country nor it appears to any of our cases.”

The Salzburg prosecutor's spokesman Robert Holzleitner also confirmed to AFP that Tabaouni has been held in Austria since August 25 and is suspected of belonging to a terrorist organisation.

Tabaouni is believed to have ties to the two alleged members of the Islamic State (IS) group, Algerian Adel Haddadi and  Pakistani Mohamad Usman, who were arrested in Austria last December and handed over to French authorities in July as part of the investigation into the Paris attacks.

Investigators believe Haddadi and Usman, who face terror charges in France, travelled to the Greek island of Leros on October 3 on the same boat full of refugees as two men who took part in the November 13 attacks in France that left 130 people dead.

But Haddadi and Usman were detained by Greek authorities for 25 days because they had fake Syrian passports. Once released, they followed the main migrant trail and made it to Salzburg in western Austria at the end of November — after the Paris attacks.

Austrian police then arrested the two in December at a migrant centre a few hours after French authorities informed them the men could be in the country.

After his arrest, Haddadi told investigators that he had wanted to go to France to “carry out a mission,” according to a statement seen by AFP.

A source close to the investigation said that Haddadi “was meant to take part in the Paris killings with his travelling companions.”

US channel CNN reported, citing investigation documents, that Tabaouni was allegedly linked to the four men who had traveled as supposed refugees through Leros and that he also was probably meant to take part in an attack.

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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