VIENNA (AUSTRIA) – Hundreds of policemen were deployed in the Austrian capital of Vienna on Tuesday to search for those responsible for carrying out terror attacks that left five dead in the city centre. The government has termed it an “Islamist terrorist” incident.
During a television interview early in the morning, Interior Minister Karl Nehammer appealed to the public repeatedly to stay away from the streets.
According to the minister, one of the attackers was gunned down by police. The man was wearing an explosives belt which turned out to be a dud. Authorities have identified him as an Islamic State sympathiser.
On Tuesday, police confirmed that two men and a woman were killed in the attacks and 15 were wounded, including a police officer. Broadcaster ORF later reported that a fourth civilian, a woman, succumbed to injuries.
According to the APA news agency, the condition of seven injured is serious.
Reinforcements from neighbouring states had to be called in and at least 1,000 officers are on the hunt for the attackers.
“We experienced an attack yesterday evening by at least one Islamist terrorist, a situation that we have not had to live through in Austria for decades,” Nehammer said.
“Austria for more than 75 years has been a strong democracy, a mature democracy, a country whose identity is marked by values and basic rights, with freedom of expression, rule of law, but also tolerance in human coexistence,” he said. “Yesterday’s attack is an attack on just these values.”
The editor of Falter newspaper tweeted that the assailant who was killed was known to domestic intelligence agencies.
The 20-year-old attacker had Albanian roots and was born and raised in the capital, said the editor on Twitter. He was one of 20 Austrian Islamists who had wanted to travel to Syria to join the Islamic State.
The assailant, who was killed by police, and other gunmen unleashed attacks on six locations in central Vienna on Monday evening, starting outside the main synagogue. According to witnesses, men started firing into bars with automatic rifles. They were crowded as many people were taking advantage of the last evening before a national curfew.
During a search in the residence of the assailant, a video was found and police are probing his potential connections.
According to APA, the city centre has been sealed off and several residences have been raided and arrests were made.
After sealing off the historic city centre, police advised citizens to remain indoors. Many sought shelter in bars and hotels while public transport through the old part of the city was shut down.
Oskar Deutsch, who heads the Jewish community of Vienna, said the synagogue is located on a narrow street and has offices adjoining it. The street is also dotted with bars. He said it was not clear whether the place of worship or offices were targeted, adding that they were closed during the time of the attack.
Videos on social media show an armed man running down a cobblestone street shooting and shouting. One video showed a man shooting down a man outside a bar on the street.
It is the for the first time Vienna is witnessing terror attacks which have happened in other capitals such as Paris, London, Berlin and Brussels, among others, in recent years. The country is part of the US-led Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS that was formed in 2014.
Condolence messages are pouring in from around the world as top officials of the EU, France, Norway, Greece and the US expressed shock over the incident.
In a tweet, US President Donald Trump said “our prayers are with the people of Vienna after yet another vile act of terrorism in Europe.”
“These evil attacks against innocent people must stop. The US stands with Austria, France, and all of Europe in the fight against terrorists, including radical Islamic terrorists.”
Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden condemned the “horrific terrorist attack,” adding, “We must all stand united against hate and violence.”
