JIHADI TERROR
Three Taylor Swift concerts are CANCELLED after ISIS fanatics target Vienna stadium & cops hunt terror cell
Some 65,000 people were expected at each of her concerts in Vienna this week
THREE Taylor Swift concerts have been axed after cops foiled an ISIS-linked terror plot on one of her sold-out gigs in Vienna.
The suspected terrorists were planning to target Ernst Happel Stadium - where Swift was set to play on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
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At least two suspects have been arrested, including a 19-year-old man who was nabbed in Ternitz, an hour from the capital.
Cops reportedly seized chemical and biological substances meant to build a "dirty bomb" at one of their homes, local outlet reports.
The men allegedly had specific and detailed plans on how to carry out a mass attack at the venue where some 65,000 fans were expected to gather for each show.
Event organiser Barracuda Music said in a post on its Instagram channel late Wednesday: "We have no choice but to cancel the three scheduled shows for everyone's safety."
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Authorities, who received a tip from foreign intelligence agencies, asked local residents to evacuate as they cordoned off nearby roads during their raid on one of the suspect's homes.
Pictures showed investigators in hazmat suits at the scene of a raid ahead of the arrests.
Franz Ruf, Austrian Director General for Public Safety, said of the attack: "A concrete threat has been averted.
"The suspected perpetrator was focused on the Taylor Swift concerts. Preparatory actions were detected."
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The 19-year-old suspect is a native Austrian - who was reportedly radicalised by Islamic terror cult ISIS in June, reports.
He was arrested in the early hours of Wednesday morning, with a second arrest in Vienna later the same day.
They were planning a series of large-scale attacks which included Swift's concerts in the city.
The Sun revealed yesterday that the singer plans to keep on working and finish the tour after the sick plot was foiled on Tuesday.
An insider close to Taylor Swift's entourage said news of the planned attacks came as a huge shock to the entire team, stressing the day was "not easy."
Speaking to The U.S. Sun, they said Swift was explained the situation in a meeting, saying they were in "shock."
"The news has been kind of a shock for the whole team, as everyone was looking forward to those concerts in Austria as they are in the last part of the Eras Tour in Europe," the source shared.
"There was a huge excitement to play in such a historical city, but also a big disappointment to have to cancel those shows."
The insider went on to say that Taylor held a meeting with her team, who felt "tense" after the threats, to explain what was happening and ensure everyone's safety.
They claimed Swift is planning to continue working the Eras Tour following the threats.
"We are going to keep working for the next shows coming in London after the stop in Austria, but it wasn’t an easy day to, that is for sure," the source continued.
Reaction from Taylor Swift's team
A source close to Taylor Swift’s entourage told The US Sun:
"The news has been kind of a shock for the whole team, as everyone was looking forward to those concerts in Austria as they are in the last part of the Eras Tour in Europe.
"There was a huge excitement to play in such a historical city, but also a big disappointment to have to cancel those shows. The terrorist threat made the team tense in a way that it’s not something easy to deal with, as everyone wants to be safe and just enjoy the tour and work in the best environment possible.
"The tour in general and especially in Europe has been going fantastic, and there is a huge disappointment that the concerts are cancelled, but everyone is very understanding of the situation and grateful that the Austrian police and the government took the best decision for the security and safety of each and all of us, from the fans to Taylor, to the crews and the team.
"There was a meeting with everyone, Taylor, the staff, and the whole team, and everything got explained to us, and it was very good to make things go smoother, and to ensure that everyone is very safe and that is the best decision that was taken.
"We are going to keep working for the next shows coming in London after the stop in Austria, but it wasn’t an easy day to, that is for sure. The goal is to wrap up the Euro part of the tour in the best way."
It comes after cops foiled a suspected terror plot from IS ahead of England’s Euros final – raiding a series of addresses just hours before kick-off.
Officers swooped amid fears of an imminent attack on the Three Lions fan zone in Berlin’s sprawling Breitscheidplatz.
Three suspects were detained by German special forces during a series of coordinated raids in nearby Potsdam.
It has since emerged that police searched three addresses while looking for five men after pictures were taken on phones of Breitscheidplatz and a large church.
The men were said to be known IS supporters already under German police surveillance.
German cops also arrested a suspected ISIS terrorist while he was trying to sneak his way into the Euros.
Anti-terror investigators caught Soufian T, 23, who is said to have applied to get a pass as a security guard for "side events" outside the football stadium.
Cops from the Cologne police department, along with investigators from the Bonn State Security Service and federal police, arrested the German-Moroccan-Polish citizen with his mother and sister at Cologne-Bonn Airport.
Several mobile phones and cash worth £2,100 were seized.
The terror outfit had also threatened chilling attacks on the Paris Olympics in an appalling poster message.
The death cult posted a propaganda image showing one of its terrorists seemingly flying an "armed drone" to attack the iconic Eiffel Tower.
The poster, pushed by ISIS-linked social media channels, was captioned: "Lone wolves' Olympics have begun with the Will of Allah."
France has been on high alert amid a slew of vile threats made by Islamic terror outfits.
Just a few days ago, French counter-terror cops foiled a plot for an "Islamist-inspired" attack which was planned for during the Olympic Games.
A NEW WAVE OF BLOODSHED
In recent months, ISIS have resurfaced across Europe and the US in a concerning escalation putting British counter-terror experts on high alert.
Will Geddes spoke to The Sun and said he would not be surprised if the UK's terror threat level increases.
He said: "I would be remarkably surprised if we did not see a terrorist attack on the UK or on European soil, certainly in the next few months."
These worries have stemmed from a horrific attack in Moscow as four ISIS-K gunmen unleashed gunfire on concert-goers, slaughtering over 140 and publishing horrific videos of their deaths.
It was the worst Islamic extremist terror attack in Europe to date.
What is ISIS?
By Ellie Doughty, Foreign News Reporter
ISIS, also known as the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, is a murderous terrorist network that officially formed in 2004.
The group, known for its barbaric public executions and beheadings, was originally part of al-Qaeda - the terrorists responsible for 9/11 which sparked the decades-long global War on Terror.
They took advantage of instability in Iraq and Syria after 2000 to rule with an iron fist.
After an injection of American troops into Iraq in 2007, ISIS lost some of its power grip in the region.
But it began to reemerge in 2011 and by 2014 the US had formed Operation Inherent Resolve.
The mission involved putting American boots on the ground in Iraq and Syria - as well as other regions in the Middle East.
In 2014, ISIS was the most powerful, best-equipped and wealthiest Islamic extremist group the world had ever seen.
By 2015 it had branches operating in at least eight other countries.
That October, their Egypt network bombed a Russian plane and killed over 220 people.
In November 2015, 130 were murdered and over 300 injured during one of their most brutal attacks on the West in Paris.
And in June 2016, a gunman who pledged himself to the murderous organisation killed at least 48 people at a nightclub in Florida.
By December 2017, ISIS had lost 95 per cent of it’s stolen territory.
But its core ideologies, which included a burning hatred for the Western way of life, continued to inspire countless terrorist attacks around the world.
While American combat in Iraq was officially axed in December 2021, 2,500 troops were left stationed there to work as advisers and trainers for Iraqi security forces trying to fend off extremist forces.
There are believed to be less than 1,000 still stationed in Syria.
Three of those American troops were killed in Jordan on January 28 - in a drone attack at a US military base near the Syrian and Iraq borders.
Paris is expected to take further measures in the coming months amid the rising chilling threats.
France raised its terror threat level to the highest marker after the Moscow attack - meaning an attack is "imminent".
Meanwhile, Western intelligence revealed how cops stopped at least 12 terror attacks in the past 12 months across Europe.
Ten jihadist attacks have been bravely intercepted and prevented in Europe last year, says Dutch intelligence agency AIVD.
Among the attacks foiled include stabbing rampages at global events, and barbaric assaults on specific venues and groups being targeted, the annual report revealed.
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AIVD, the Dutch agency that made the report, listed two potential reasons for the high number of attacks in the last year.
It said: "There were two mobilising issues: the destruction of Korans in the Netherlands and other European countries and the conflict between Israel and Hamas."
Terrorist threat 'acute' across Europe
By Jessica Baker, Foreign News Reporter
THE threat of terrorism to the security of Europe is "acute", the EU's law enforcement agency warns.
Europol said the top concern of EU countries is "jihadist terrorism" and foreign terrorist fighters who travel from conflict zones.
Some fear the terror group ISIS could be looking to leverage conflict in the Middle East to launch a fresh of attacks across Europe.
Ten jihadist attacks have been foiled by cops in Europe in the past 12 months alone, according to Dutch intelligence agency AIVD.
The agency claimed attacks planned and intercepted included stabbing rampages at major events and assaults on specific groups and venues.
Israel's spy agency meanwhile alleged Iranian terror cells are plotting attacks across the continent ahead of the Paris Olympics.
The Olympics chief has promised a ring of steel at the Games' opening ceremony and insisted "security is the priority" to ensure the safety of an expected 15 million fans and more than 10,000 athletes.
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