Vienna shooter’s motives were Islamist
November 3, 2020
After a terrorist shooting armed police officers patrol on a street at the scene in Vienna, Austria, Nov. 3, 2020. (AP/Ronald Zak)
Nehammer said that initial investigations indicate that the suspect who was killed had sympathized with the Islamic State group.
By Associated Press
Austria’s top security official said that four people have died — including one assailant — and fifteen people were wounded in a shooting in the heart of Vienna late Monday.
Interior Minister Karl Nehammer told reporters Tuesday that two men and a woman have died from their injuries. A suspected attacker, who was carrying an assault rifle and a fake suicide vest, was also shot and killed by police.
Nehammer said that initial investigations indicate that the suspect who was killed had sympathized with the Islamic State group.
“We experienced an attack last night by at least one Islamist terrorist,” Nehammer told reporters. He declined to elaborate, citing the ongoing investigation.
Authorities were still trying to determine whether further attackers may be on the run, he said. People in Vienna have been urged to stay at home if possible Tuesday.
Among the fifteen people injured in the attack was a police officer, said Nehammer.
The shooting began shortly after 8:00 p.m. (1900 GMT) Monday near Vienna’s main synagogue as many people were enjoying a last night of open restaurants and bars before the start of a coronavirus lockdown.
“We are victims of a despicable terror attack in the federal capital that is still ongoing,” Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said.
The attack drew swift condemnation and assurances of support from leaders around Europe, including from French President Emmanuel Macron, whose country also experienced three Islamist attacks in recent weeks.
President Donald Trump tweeted Monday night as he prepared for his final rally ahead of Election Day: “Our prayers are with the people of Vienna after yet another vile act of terrorism in Europe.”
“These evil attacks against innocent people must stop,” Trump added. “The U.S. stands with Austria, France, and all of Europe in the fight against terrorists, including radical Islamic terrorists.”
Austria’s military has provided soldiers to guard key sites in Vienna, freeing up police to continue the investigation. Germany and Hungary have offered to send tactical police units to support their Austrian colleagues.
Authorities say members of the public have uploaded 20,000 videos of the attack to police.
Vienna attack investigation: Terrorist likely acted alone
after he ‘tricked’ Austria’s deradicalization program
3 Nov, 2020 19:02
FILE PHOTO. © Reuters / Leonhard Foeger
The man behind Monday’s terrorist attack in the Austrian capital had secured an early release from jail by “tricking” a deradicalization program, Austria’s interior minister has said, adding that he most likely acted alone.
The Islamist radical, who killed four people in a shooting attack on Monday, would still be serving his sentence in prison, had he not deceived the deradicalization program overseen by the Austrian Justice Ministry, Interior Minister Karl Nehammer revealed during a press conference.
Nehammer said the fact that such a radicalized person was granted an early release means the Austrian justice system needs “re-evaluation and optimization.”
Earlier, the Austrian authorities confirmed that the attacker identified as Kujtim Fejzulai was sentenced to 22 months in prison in April 2019 after he swore allegiance to Islamic State and made an attempt to join terrorists in Syria.
Yet, he was set free in December 2019, some eight months after the sentencing, since he was no longer considered a threat. He was then assigned a probation officer and was sent into the care of the Derad association – an NGO tasked with deradicalizing convicted criminals on behalf of the Austrian government.
Fejzulai then made “particular efforts” to create an image of a “well-integrated” man during his meetings with the officer and the Derad specialists. According to some local media reports, he met with Derad representatives just days ago and explicitly condemned the recent terrorist attacks in France.
In fact, however, the 20-year-old sought to “deliberately destroy the system,” Nehammer admitted.
The attacker killed four people and injured 23 during a rampage in Vienna’s Old Town on Monday evening. The assailant himself was also gunned down by police. Ten people, who suffered injuries in the incident, have since been released from hospitals, Vienna’s Mayor Michael Ludwig confirmed. Another 13 people remain in hospitals, he said, adding that three of them are in “critical” condition.
Nehammer, meanwhile, said that the perpetrator most likely acted alone and had no accomplices, explaining that analyses of a half of all video materials submitted by the attack witnesses revealed no signs of any other attackers. The minister said that as many as 20,000 videos have been sent to police since the attack, adding that it was too early to draw any final conclusions.
Austria’s police also raided 18 apartments and detained 14 people in the wake of the attack, the minister said. Earlier, the Austrian media reported about a “known Islamist” being detained in a large-scale police operation, involving heavily armed units, in the city of Linz. His connection to the terrorist attack in Vienna remains unclear, though.
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French airstrikes kill over 50 Al-Qaeda-linked jihadists in Mali
3 Nov, 2020 16:19
A French soldier stands guards in front of an NH90 Caiman military helicopter during Operation Barkhane
in Ndaki, Mali, July 29, 2019. © Reuters / Benoit Tessier
More than 50 jihadists have been killed in airstrikes carried out by French forces in Mali, Defense Minister Florence Parly said on Tuesday, calling the deaths a significant blow to Al-Qaeda in the region.
The airstrikes were carried out on Friday in central Mali near the borders of Burkina Faso and Niger, Parly said after meeting members of Mali’s transitional government in Bamako.
“I would like to reveal an operation of great importance which was carried out on October 30 in Mali by the Barkhane force, which was able to neutralize more than 50 jihadists,” Parly said on Mali state television. The minister was referring to the French-led anti-jihadist Operation Barkhane.
Around 30 motorcycles were destroyed, the French minister said. The operation was launched after a drone detected a “very large” motorcycle caravan in the “three borders” area, he added.
When the jihadists tried to escape, two Mirage jets were sent in, along with a drone to launch missiles on the insurgents, according to Parly.
Four terrorists have also been captured, military spokesman Colonel Frederic Barbry told reporters, adding that explosives and a suicide vest were found. The group had been “about to attack [an army] position in the region,” he said.
Another operation targeting Islamic State in the Greater Sahara was also underway, with a total of 3,000 soldiers involved, Barbry added.
France has more than 5,000 troops in Mali and neighboring countries in West Africa’s Sahel region to fight the jihadists since it first intervened in 2013. The United Nations has deployed around 13,000 troops in Mali as part of its peacekeeping mission.
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