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It was only a matter of time before Austria was also targeted by Islamist terror. Austria, which likes to call itself the “island of the blessed”, was warned, but could not protect itself from this attack. It was a heart attack, in the center of Vienna. Interior Minister Karl Nehammer declared in the Stakkatoton on Tuesday morning at 6 am that it cannot be ruled out that there are several perpetrators. There were house searches and several arrests.
As Vienna Mayor Michael Ludwig reported that night, the perpetrators “shot people at random” – all those who wanted to have fun the last night before the crown-related lockdown: at the Burgtheater, at the State Opera, at the Bars in the so-called Bermuda Triangle in the center of the city and in the open air spaces, the pub’s gardens, where you wanted to enjoy a last beer or an eighth of wine in the unusually mild temperatures of November, before that restaurants close at midnight.
The perpetrator or simply the perpetrators marched through the streets, shooting. Four bystanders were killed and one murderer was arrested by gunfire. He was carrying an assault rifle and was wearing an alleged explosives belt that turned out to be a mannequin. That he was an IS supporter and that his apartment was blown up, the interior minister did not want to reveal much more.
The IS terrorist militia was known to be active in Austria.
In the latest report on the protection of the constitution, Islamist terrorism is described as the “greatest threat to Austria’s security”. At the presentation of the report, the then Director General of Public Security, Franz Lang, said: The security situation was “more relaxed” compared to other countries in Europe and the world.
The recently retired director of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution and the Fight against Terrorism (BVT), Peter Gridling, has repeatedly pointed out in recent years that the IS terrorist militia still has supporters in Austria, is active and has funds. considerable. The so-called returnees represented “considerable and incalculable risk potential” for Gridling. The authorities knew of a total of 320 people from Austria who had traveled to the war zones of Syria and Iraq or wanted to travel there to fight. It is very likely that 58 died, at least 93 returned to Austria.
Chancellor Sebastian Kurz has taken up the fight against political and militant Islam. He is also vehemently opposed to Turkey’s accession to the EU. It is a tradition in Austria to act as a bulwark against the supposed expansion of the Ottoman Empire. The FPÖ holds regular celebrations to commemorate the end of the Turkish siege in 1683.
Because the act of terrorism started in Seitenstettengasse based on initial findings, it is obvious that there is an anti-Semitic undertone. The synagogue and the headquarters of the Vienna Jewish community are located on Seitenstettengasse. This attack could also have been an attack on Jewish life in Vienna, which has flourished in recent years and is also becoming more clearly visible: through kosher shops and Jewish institutions. Around 15,000 Jews currently live in Austria, the majority in Vienna. More and more Jews return to Vienna, especially from Eastern Europe, there are immigrants, many of whom profess Orthodox Judaism.
In the 1970s and 1980s, Israeli and Jewish institutions were repeatedly targeted by attacks by Palestinian groups. In 1979 a bomb exploded in the Seitenstettengasse synagogue. In 1981, the Palestinian terrorist command of the Abu Nidal group attacked the Vienna City Temple on Seitenstettengasse and killed two people. That same year, the Vienna councilor Heinz Nittel, president of the Austrian-Israeli Society, was assassinated by this group. In 1985, Palestinian militants carried out an attack on the Vienna airport in front of the counter of the Israeli airline El Al, leaving four dead and 38 wounded.
Austria has escaped major attacks in recent years. However, in recent days there have been riots and incidents in the churches of Vienna: the Antonskirche in the Favoriten district and St. Stephen’s Cathedral in the heart of the city. The shouts of “Allahu Akbar” were heard and the state security authorities began investigations. After France, Germany and Belgium, Spain and Great Britain, Austria has now been hit hard by Islamist terror.
