CIA on Swift terror:

19-year-old wanted to kill tens of thousands according to the CIA

On the right in the picture is the main suspect Beran A. He gave himself the combat name "Mo" in reference to the Prophet Mohammed.

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/APA/Eva Manhart, zVg)

The plans to attack a Taylor Swift concert in Vienna at the beginning of August are said to have been even more devastating than previously assumed. The reaction of the local authorities may have prevented the worst, as the US secret service CIA has now reported.

According to US media reports, the deputy director of the CIA has confirmed that the planned terrorist attack on Taylor Swift's concerts in Vienna at the beginning of August was aimed at killing "a large number" of people - including Americans.

"They planned to kill a large number of people - tens of thousands - at that concert," Deputy Director David S. Cohen said at a summit near Washington, according to the New York Times.

Authorities took tips seriously
The Austrian authorities had managed to prevent the attack thanks to information from the CIA and its international partners. Explosive: warnings in the fight against terrorism do not always receive too much attention. The operation in Vienna was different and hundreds of lives could have been saved.

"The Austrians were able to make these arrests because the agency and our partners in the intelligence community provided them with information about the plans of this ISIS-linked group," the CIA man explained.

When intelligence information falls on deaf ears, it quickly becomes dangerous. In March, 130 people died in the Islamist attack on a concert hall near Moscow. According to the USA, it had information about a "planned terrorist attack in Moscow" that was possibly directed against "large gatherings, including concerts". As in the Swift case, this information was shared with the relevant authorities.

At the beginning of January, IS carried out a terrorist attack on a mourning event in Iran. Here, too, warnings are said to have been ignored.

Pledge of allegiance to IS
In Austria, however, investigations were initiated immediately. According to the findings of the Directorate of State Security and Intelligence (DSN), the 19-year-old suspect with North Macedonian roots is said to have joined the radical Islamic terror militia Islamic State (IS).

His plan: to get as close as possible to the Ernst Happel Stadium on August 8 or 9 in his car with the help of a blue light and a siren, and to kill Taylor Swift fans gathered there with a homemade explosive device or a machete and knives.

The main suspect, Beran A., gave himself the fighting name "Mo" in reference to the Prophet Mohammed.

(Bild: zVg)

He was arrested on August 7, a few days after the first tips from abroad. A 17-year-old from the main suspect's circle and an 18-year-old are also in custody.

Swift speaks of fear and guilt
Taylor Swift only commented on the cancellation of her concerts after the end of her European tour. The cancellation of the concerts in Vienna was "devastating" for her, said Swift. The reason for the cancellations filled her with "anxiety and enormous guilt" because so many people wanted to come to the shows, the singer said.

Taylor Swift

(Bild: Photo Press Service)

But she was also very grateful to the authorities, "because thanks to them we were mourning concerts and not human lives", Swift explained and was touched by the "love and unity" of her fans. The singer defended her long silence on the cancellations by saying that she wanted to finish her "Eras Tour" safely before making a public statement.

Swift did not comment on whether the concerts in Vienna could possibly be rescheduled. She will continue her tour in October, before that she will take a "much-needed break", it was said.