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The jihadist militia “Islamic State” (IS) claimed responsibility for the terrorist attack in Vienna, which left four dead. A “soldier of the caliphate” carried out the attack with guns and a knife and killed or injured about 30 people, including policemen, the Islamic State said on its Nashir News platform on Tuesday.
The Islamic State propaganda organ Amaq released an additional statement on “a firearms attack” that was committed “yesterday by an Islamic State fighter in the city of Vienna” and also published a photo of the attacker. Obviously it was recorded before the act.
According to Rita Katz, director of the Site Intelligence Group, which specializes in extremist propaganda, it corresponds to a photo that circulated on the Internet shortly after the attack. ISIS also distributed a video of the man in which he swore allegiance to ISIS and its leader Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Quraishi.
The posts suggest that the attacker may have had contact with IS prior to the attack. However, they do not prove that the SI controlled or planned the act.
The killer was killed by police shooting
On Monday night, 20-year-old Kujtim F. shot passersby in the center of Vienna. The ISIS sympathizer walked through a nightlife district near a synagogue with an assault rifle, pistol and machete, as well as a fake explosive belt. Four people, including a German national, succumbed to his injuries and 14 other people were injured, some of them life-threatening. The police shot the attacker.
F. was born in Austria near Vienna and also had the citizenship of North Macedonia. It had been on the authorities’ radar for a long time. According to Interior Minister Nehammer, he tried to travel to Syria to join ISIS there. The authorities prevented him from doing so and on April 25, 2019, a court sentenced him to 22 months in prison for belonging to a terrorist organization. In early December, however, F. was released early.
The system “brutally and perfidiously deceived”
F. had managed to convince the judicial authorities of his de-radicalization before his release, Nehammer said. The minister said he had “brutally and perfidiously deceived the program in question.” “There was an early release of a radicalized man.” Even afterward, he said, “He made a special effort, even with the probation service.” When asked if the man was observed by the constitutional protection authorities after his release, the minister did not give a clear answer. But he was able to move freely.
Nehammer announced a review of the system for dealing with radicalized prisoners. Furthermore, the Ministry of Justice wants to rely more on the assessments of the constitutional protection authorities when it comes to possible dismissals of extremists.
Multiple arrests in the vicinity of the perpetrator
After the bloodbath, 14 people close to the perpetrator were provisionally detained and 18 homes were searched. Austrian Interior Minister Karl Nehammer (ÖVP) said it is in a “sensitive phase” in which it must ensure that there are no copycat acts.
Chancellor Kurz warned in a televised speech of a division in society. “We must always be aware that this is not a conflict between Christians and Muslims or between Austrians and migrants.” It is a struggle between the many people who believe in peace and the few who want war. Religion and origin should never justify hatred. “We will never forget the victims of last night and together we will defend our core values.”
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