Islamism warning

Terror alert: 100 high-risk terrorists live in Austria

Last year, an IS supporter attempted an attack on a Taylor Swift concert in Vienna.

(Bild: APA/ROLAND SCHLAGER)

After the attack in Villach: terror experts estimate that there are currently more than 100 radicalized Islamist high risk groups in Austria. In addition, more people are believed to be planning attacks. Due to a lack of monitoring of messenger services, these have not yet been targeted by the constitutional protectors.

From a regional perspective, according to terror experts, the high risk groups are concentrated in numbers in the east of the country, but are not limited to this area.

Investigators infiltrate relevant chat groups
The high-risk groups known to the authorities are monitored by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, although this is quite limited. In addition to conventional police work such as surveillance, attempts are also made to infiltrate investigators into relevant chat groups, where they ideally find potential suspects.

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/NIBOR / Action Press / picturedesk.com, EPA-EFE/ERIK S. LESSER)

However, as surveillance of messenger services is not permitted by law in Austria - similarly strict rules only exist in Portugal - experts assume that a number of people in this country who are considered to be high risk perpetrators have not yet come to the attention of the constitutional protectors.

Villach attacker was not a high-risk individual
The Villach attacker, who killed a 14-year-old boy and injured five other people, some of them critically, was not a high-risk individual. The authorities were not aware of any indications that he was a supporter of the IS terrorist militia or that he was planning an attack.

The Villach attacker

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

This is not surprising given the recent increase in cases in which Islamists radicalize themselves within a very short time via platforms such as TikTok and do not network with like-minded people in real life or online.

These "lone wolves" - according to current investigations, the Villach attacker is probably one of them - are particularly dangerous, as they leave no or hardly any traces online before they take action.

(Bild: APA/BMI)

The number of high-risk Islamists currently in the country is also difficult to estimate because radicalization processes have also taken place or are taking place in Austria as a result of the Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October 2023 and the collapse of the Syrian regime under President Bashar al-Assad.

Hamas sympathizers in Austria
The number of people who can be attributed to Hamas and who are being monitored by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution has increased since the fall of 2023. Since last December, the State Security Service has also been paying attention to the impact that recent events in Syria could have on the security situation in Austria.