Converted to Islam

Boys convert to Islam, glorify IS

Relevant videos and images were posted on internet platforms.

(Bild: LPD NÖ/LSE NÖ)

Explosive investigations against suspected IS sympathizers on suspicion of membership in a terrorist organization - and in the middle of Lower Austria: two boys from the district of Tulln posted relevant propaganda on the Internet, as did a young Russian woman from St. Pölten.

The fear of Islamist terror has finally arrived in Lower Austria: First, the case of the 19-year-old bomb hacker from Ternitz, who wanted to cause a bloodbath at the Taylor Swift concert in Vienna, sent shockwaves far beyond the borders of the province. And now three young people are once again suspected of sympathizing with the terrorist organization Islamic State.

This is the result of previous investigations by the Lower Austrian State Office for State Protection and Counter-Extremism (LSE NÖ) and house searches. 

Boy posted pictures and videos 
A 16-year-old Austrian from the district of Tulln posted IS-related pictures and videos on "TikTok" and Instagram. Fighters with an IS flag were seen on a motorcycle and a speaker addressed the "lions of war" with the call to "punish infidels". Investigations by the LSE Lower Austria revealed that the boy had converted to Islam. On the advice of his parents, he has so far refused to provide any information.

Relevant videos and pictures were posted on internet platforms.

(Bild: LPD NÖ/LSE NÖ)

Prohibited weapon seized
A 17-year-old Austrian from the district of Tulln is also alleged to have spread IS propaganda. He posted a picture of a young man with a blackened face and a machine gun, accompanied by the nashid (song for the affirmation of faith in Islam) "The Clashing of Swords". According to investigations by the LSE Lower Austria, this boy is also said to have converted to Islam. Two cell phones, a prohibited knuckleduster and a switchblade knife were also seized from him.

19-year-old on vacation in Chechnya
The accommodation of a 19-year-old Russian citizen in St. Pölten was also searched. She is suspected of having posted a video on Instagram featuring the Israeli defense minister, with the caption "We have come as soldiers of Allah". However, the suspect was not found in the state capital - she is currently vacationing in Chechnya.

Tip-off from Germany
Both the State Office for State Protection and Counter-Extremism and the St. Pölten public prosecutor's office state that the three suspects are not connected to each other. Further (terrorist) plans of the suspects are also not known at present. The Austrian authorities were put on the trail of the Russian woman and the two boys by the Federal Criminal Police Office in Germany following internet searches carried out there.