Progress in the Vienna Attack … 18 Raids and 14 Arrests, and ISIS Claims Responsibility



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Police are launching a raid and arrest campaign in Vienna in search of people suspected of having links to the perpetrator of Monday’s attack, which killed 4 people. While the Austrian Chancellor commented on the attack, the French president made statements from inside the Austrian embassy in Paris, and Germany announced security measures at its borders.

Austrian Interior Minister Karl Niehammer said Tuesday that the perpetrator of the bloody attack managed to “fool” the extremist rehabilitation program and those accused of following him.

The new information indicates that the attacker was previously sentenced to 22 months in prison in April 2019 for attempting to go to Syria to join the Islamic State, but was released early and the minister criticized the release of the perpetrator.

Today, ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack, in a statement posted on its Telegram application channels, and the organization said that an “Islamic State fighter” carried out the Vienna attack, which killed 4 people.

In a separate text a photo of the armed attacker is attached. The organization’s “Amaq” agency reported “a firearms attack carried out yesterday (Monday) by an Islamic State fighter in Vienna.”

Nihamer said that so far, 14 people have been arrested and 18 raids have been carried out in the country, looking for people allegedly linked to the perpetrator, who was killed by police.

The Interior Ministry said the attacker was named Kocetim Faizullah, who was 20 years old and the nationalities of Austria and North Macedonia.

The minister explained that the police managed to eliminate the man in 9 minutes.

The attack began around 8 p.m. local time (1900 GMT) on Monday.

Nihamer said officers from a specialized unit were summoned to the scene and ended the incident by shooting the man at 8-9 minutes. He added that his quick intervention prevented the situation from deteriorating.

A police spokesman said about 1,000 officers were involved in the search. The army is guarding sensitive sites in the city to free the police for the campaign.

Austria’s adviser pledged to prosecute the perpetrators and those behind them (Reuters)

Quality of the conflict
Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz promised to track down these people by all available means, so “we will go after the perpetrators and those behind them.”

He said that an old man and a woman, a young passer-by and a waitress were killed in cold blood, and that there were 14 injured, some of them fighting to die.

“Yesterday’s attack was clearly an Islamic terrorist. This is not a conflict between Christians and Muslims or between Austrians and immigrants. No, it is a fight between many who believe in peace and a few (who do not believe in it). It is a war between civilization and barbarism, “he added in a televised speech.

On Tuesday, British security services raised the alert level to “dangerous” in the face of a terrorist threat, the day after the Vienna attack and several attacks in France.

British domestic intelligence, MI5, which announced the move on its website, said; As of November 4, 2019, the warning was at a “real” level, and when it was raised to “dangerous”, which is the fourth level within 5 levels; This means that a terrorist attack is “very likely”.

Meanwhile, Interior Minister Priti Patel said: “This is a precaution and is not related to any specific threat.”

Broad sentence
German Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed her dismay at the attacks that took place in central Vienna and sympathized with her neighbor in the battle against what she described as “the terrorism of extremist Islamic thought.”

“In these difficult hours in which Vienna has become the target of terrorist violence … my mind and my heart go out to the residents there, and the security forces face danger,” Merkel said in a statement published in Twitter for its spokesperson.

Germany tightened controls on the Austrian border after the attack.

For his part, Russian President Vladimir Putin today condemned the attack and described it as a “heinous and appalling crime.”

In the United States, President Donald Trump condemned the attack and wrote on Twitter: “We pray for the people of Vienna after another cruel terrorist act in Europe. These violent attacks on innocent people must end. The United States supports Austria, France and the Rest of Europe in the war against terrorists. ” , Including extremist Islamic terrorists. “

For his part, the Secretary General of the United Nations, António Guterres, condemned the attack in Vienna and offered his condolences to the families of the victims.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson condemned the terrorist attack in Vienna and expressed his solidarity with the Austrians.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu also condemned the attack and stressed the need to continue the fight against the ideology of those who exploit the Islamic religion.

Cavusoglu added that he offered his condolences to his Austrian counterpart for the victims of the terrorist attack over the phone.

In the same context, the minister praised two Turkish men who rescued a woman and a policeman during the terrorist attack and said: “Thank you, we are proud of you.”

Macron: We will concede nothing, and there must be a European response to those who attack our values ​​(Reuters)

Macron speaks
For his part, French President Emmanuel Macron visited the Austrian embassy in Paris today to express his “unconditional” support for the Austrian people and to ask for a European response to the “enemies attacking Europe.”

“We will do everything possible, as Europeans, to unite and fight this scourge of terrorism, and move forward without abandoning any of our values,” Macron said.

The attack comes just days after a stabbing operation in Nice, France, which left people dead and wounded, and amid the wrath of the Islamic world over French cartoons mocking the Prophet of Islam, Muhammad, may God bless him. and grant you peace.

Macron said again: “Vienna represents a true embodiment of our values. This attack also indicates the will of our enemies to attack the reality of Europe, the land of freedom, culture and values, and therefore we will not renounce nothing”.



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