Austrian authorities have confirmed that all 15 of the people arrested in connection with the Vienna attack were part of a radical Islamist group, and two had previously been jailed for an attempted honor killing.
The public security director of Austria, Franz Ruf, told a news conference on Thursday that everybody who had been arrested in relation to the terrorist attack on Monday was part of a radical Islamist network.
Ruf was joined by Interior Minister Karl Nehammer, who said that eight of the group – who were arrested in a series of raids following a search of the deceased gunman’s home – had previous convictions for various crimes.
Four of the detainees had been convicted of terror offenses, two had been arrested for committing violent crimes, and another two had received long prison terms for an attempted honor killing in the Austrian city of Linz.
Ruf said that the two convicted for the attempted honor killing were released early from prison. One had been sentenced to 10 years’ incarceration in 2012 but was released in 2017, while the other was given five years and six months but was set free in 2015.
The interior minister also revealed more details from the Vienna investigation, adding that the Austrian authorities had identified the deceased gunman within four hours, and that the lines of investigation also led to other countries.
Nehammer noted that they were working with Europol and the Swiss authorities, as they were dealing with an international terrorist network.
The minister confirmed on Wednesday that Slovak intelligence had tipped off the Austrian authorities in the summer, after the gunman – who had previously been jailed for trying to join the Islamic State – travelled to Slovakia and attempted to buy ammunition for a Kalashnikov AK-47 assault rifle. Nehammer said the information had then somehow been lost in a communications blunder.
The government has been heavily criticized by the opposition since admitting the intelligence fumble.
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