Two Tajik nationals who lived in Ukraine are accused of plotting assault on a Vienna cathedral, Austria’s Heute information outlet claims
Ukraine might have turn into a handy passageway for violent extremists searching for to enter the EU below the radar, Austria’s Heute information outlet reported on Sunday, citing safety officers. A “massive quantity” of suspected terrorists have traveled to the bloc by way of Ukrainian territory, it stated.
The media outlet cited the instance of two Tajik nationals and a Chechen arrested in Austria and Germany in December final 12 months on suspicion of plotting an assault on the long-lasting St Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna. The suspects allegedly aimed to assault the cathedral on New 12 months’s Eve, utilizing Kalashnikov assault rifles and explosives, in keeping with Heute.
These suspects could possibly be a part of a wider terrorist community linked to an Islamic State (IS, previously ISIS/ISIL) offshoot referred to as IS Khorasan Province (ISIS-Okay or ISPK), the outlet reported in December, citing legislation enforcement officers.
In response to Western media reviews, the identical terrorist group claimed duty for final Friday’s assault on the Crocus Metropolis Corridor live performance venue exterior of Moscow. The large assault claimed greater than 130 lives and left over 180 folks injured.
Austrian prosecutors stated in December that the Vienna plot suspects had been “extremely radicalized,” shared “Jihadist” beliefs and had been allegedly a part of a community that was planning assaults in Cologne and Madrid in late 2023.
There are “indications” that suspected terrorists have “flowed into Europe below the radar” from Ukraine, the outlet stated. Noting that there was no official affirmation of this, the outlet stated it “could possibly be” that the perpetrators of the assault in Moscow on Friday “had connections to like-minded individuals who had been on Ukrainian territory.”
The younger Tajik couple who deliberate the Vienna assault are stated to have lived in Ukraine till the beginning of armed battle between Moscow and Kiev in February 2022. The 2 claimed to have been “pro-democracy” activists campaigning for the “rule of legislation” of their dwelling nation of Tajikistan, Heute stated. Nevertheless, German safety providers intercepted their messages on Fb, the place the suspects mentioned their assault plans and swore allegiance to the ISPK.
Russian authorities haven’t commented on who they consider is answerable for the Crocus Metropolis Corridor assault and haven’t but confirmed or denied IS involvement.
The Russian home safety service (FSB) has stated, nonetheless, that the 4 suspected attackers tried to achieve the Ukrainian border following the bloodbath, including that that they had a “contact” there that might have helped them cross into Ukraine.
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