Association for Defending Victims of Terrorism – Austrian security officials said they have broken up a suspected terror cell linked to ISIS that consisted of nine young men and one woman. One suspect was detained.
The investigations and interrogations carried out so far show that the suspects have an attitude that is between “fundamental Islamic” and “terrorist,” Austria’s domestic intelligence service DSN said in a statement. It did not reveal any further details about the suspects, saying it is still conducting further investigations.
The suspects, who are aged between 15 and 23 and live near the city of Linz in northern Austria, allegedly “have been recruiting for the terrorist organization ISIS and its criminal activities for a long time,” the intelligence service said.
“In addition, they planned to establish a mosque or prayer room under the sign of a decorative Taliban flag through missionary and recruitment activities,” the statement said.
The identities of the suspects were not given in line with Austrian privacy rules, but Austria’s APA news agency reported that the suspects are from Austria, Turkey, Iraq, Russia and Croatia or are stateless.
The group is also accused of having encouraged a 19-year-old who sprayed ISIS graffiti and committed further damage to property in St. Poelten, west of Vienna.
