This is how Ahmad G. lived.

From “liaben Bua” to the IS killer of Villach

Before his crime, Ahmad G. had sworn allegiance to the Islamic State terrorist militia and made a jihadist flag out of bin bags (small picture).

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/BMI, SVS News Agency)

"There is no God but God" is written in white on a black bin bag that Ahmad G. hung on his wall as an IS flag. The "Krone" followed in the footsteps of the assassin and spoke to hosts and neighbors.

The shock in Villach runs deep - even for a couple in the Untere Fellach district. But what the pensioners had not suspected until the "Krone" local inspection: they lived under the same roof as the assassin - renting him an apartment for more than a year.

"What?" I don't believe that now. We didn't know it was him. How horrible," they say, completely flabbergasted. There had never been any problems with the Syrian. "No, he was a liaba Bua. Gave my wife sweets when she paid the rent."

Selbstgebastelte IS-Propaganda

(Bild: zVg)

Wie die Ermittlungen zutage fördern, bastelte sich Ahmad G. selbst IS-Devotionalien, etwa eine Flagge aus schwarzem Plastik. Dort vermerkte er: „Es gibt keinen Gott außer Gott“. Im Kreis schrieb er „Mohammad Gesandter Gottes“. Auf einer Notiz finden sich weitere IS-Sprüche inklusive Übersetzung:

• „Gott ist der Größte, Lob sei Gott“
• „Der Islamische Staat wird bis dem (sic!) Kommen des Jüngsten Gerichts bestehen bleiben“
• „Muhammad ist der Gesandte Allahs. Und die, die mit ihm sind, sind hart gegen die Ungläubigen, doch barmherzig zueinander. (Sure Al-Fath – Teil des Verses 29)“
• „Allah hat von den Gläubigen ihr Leben und ihr Gut für das Paradies erkauft: Sie kämpfen für Allahs Sache, sie töten und werden getötet (Teil des Verses 111 – Al Tawba Sure)“

Received accommodation from older brother
Ahmad G. was given the accommodation by his older brother, who had also lived there. But then he moved out and started a family. "He was a decent, hard-working man who wanted to help his brother and get him to work. That often led to tensions between them. Then Ahmad suddenly left - without telling us. As he was officially registered with us, we couldn't rent out the apartment for a long time," the couple continue.

It was only later that the pensioners found out from his brother that the missing tenant had moved in with relatives in Germany and was in prison there. But the Syrian returned to Villach - and with a different face, as Ahmad's last neighbors told the "Krone".

Ahmad G.'s neighbors had a "bad feeling" about the conspicuous tenant right from the start.

(Bild: Klaus Loibnegger)

Neighbors: "His look always scared us"
"It was always noisy in the apartment, with lots of visits from men. And his eyes always frightened us. When he met one of us women in the hallway or in the doorway, he always turned away from us demonstratively - really contemptuously, so that we wouldn't come into contact with him," they remember.