Austrian police have arrested three suspects in connection with an attack on a pride parade in the capital, Vienna, Austria’s security services announced on Sunday.
About 300,000 people took part in the parade in the city on Saturday.
The suspects, aged between 14 and 20, are all Austrian citizens. While they have yet to be officially named, it has been revealed that the trio have Bosnian and Chechen family ancestry.
Early findings indicated that the planned attack was clearly motivated by Islamic sentiment. The head of Austria’s domestic intelligence service, Omar Haijaoui-Pirchner, revealed that the three suspects are supporters of the Islamic State (IS, formerly known as the Islamic State) terrorist organization.
“Through a successful and timely intervention, we managed to defuse the dangerous moment of Vienna Pride and ensure the safety of all involved,” He said.
The spy chief did not reveal the exact nature of the thwarted potential attack, saying only that the suspect was found to be in possession of items prohibited under Austrian weapons laws.
The security services were praised by Austrian Chancellor Karnehammer for his timely intervention and prevention “Possible Islamist attack in Vienna.” Terrorist suspect’s thwarted attempt shows that “We must not give in in the fight against radicals and extremists,” The chancellor wrote on Twitter.
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