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Security risk elevated in lead up to New Year

As a result of a tip from a so-called "friendly" intelligence service, police in Austria are increasing precautions against a potential terrorist attack somewhere in the country.

Published: 26 December 2015 18:08 CET
Security risk elevated in lead up to New Year
Tightened security is expected at Vienna's New Year celebrations. Photo: Paul Gillingwater

According to a report from the Associated Press news agency, police in Vienna announced on Saturday that a tip received just before Christmas warned that several known potential attackers were planning a provocation using explosives or firearms.

A similar warning has been passed on to other major European capitals, but so far there are no concrete details, only suspicions.

For maximum impact, the attackers are likely to target events around the New Year, which is traditionally a time when large crowds of people gather in public events.

Police spokesman Christoph Pözel told the APA that he was aware of no specific threat, either as to place or time.

Police sources say they will be increasing surveillance of large crowds and transportation hubs in the time leading up to January 1st.  There are no plans at this time to cancel any of the planned events, however.

Crush

As usual, Vienna's central Stefansplatz square is expected to be massively overcrowded, with the U1 Stefansplatz station bypassed in the hours before and after the New Year event.

Revelers are advised to avoid the city centre if they suffer from claustrophobia.

Visitors wanting to attend must stop at an adjacent station, either on the U1 or U3 lines, and walk into the central city.  The lockdown will commence around 22:00.

The Stefansplatz station itself will be restricted to use by emergency services only, including the Vienna Ambulance Service.

The No. 1 tram will run a limited service, only between Stefan-Fadinger Square – Dr.-Karl-Renner-Ring – Joefstädter Street and Prater Hauptallee – Stock Exchange – Nußdorferstraße.

The 71 trains will run only between Fickeystraße and Schwarzenbergplatz.

The Vienna Ring Tram will suspend service at 19:30.

The lines 30, 1A, 2A and 3A will not be in operation.

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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