Austria: Police foil attack at Vienna Pride, arrest three

Austrian security services on Sunday said they foiled a planned attack at the Pride Parade in the capital city on Saturday.

Three people between the ages of 14 and 20 were arrested on suspicion of planning the Vienna attack, police said. They are Austrian citizens with Bosnian and Chechen roots.

Some 300,000 people attended the parade, officials said. June is Pride month, and events are held all over the world to celebrate the LGBTQ community.

Austrian chancellor expresses gratitude to security forces who foiled plot

Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer expressed his gratitude to the investigators for preventing "a possible Islamist attack in Vienna."

Nehammer said the planned attack showed that "we must never give in the fight against radicals and extremists."

"Through the successful and also timely intervention, we managed to defuse the moment of danger for Vienna Pride and to ensure the safety of all participants," said Omar Haijawi-Pirchner, Austria's domestic intelligence chief.

Haijawi-Pirchner said the three suspects were sympathizers of the "Islamic State" terrorist group.

He did not give details about the planned attack but said that police seized items that were prohibited under Austria's weapons law after executing a search warrant at the people's homes.

Vienna Mayor Michael Ludwig expressed shock, saying there "was no place for hate and exclusion in Vienna. Our city is colorful and cosmopolitan," according to Austria's APA news agency.

Vienna police and Austria's state protection service were involved in the operation.

In Austria, registered partnerships have been legal since 2010, and same-sex marriage since 2019.

rm/sms (Reuters, AFP)