Jihadists Reportedly Claim Responsibility for Vienna Attack, in Retaliation for Anti-Daesh Operation
The shooting that left at least 15 people injured and two dead in Vienna has been described as a terror attack, with a massive police operation ongoing in the Austrian capital after gunfire in the city centre.
Jihadists released a statement claiming responsibility for the terror attack in Vienna late Monday, according to SITE Intelligence Group - an American company that claims to monitor the information activity of extremists.
The Daesh* supporters, according to SITE, are "joyous" while describing perpetrators as "lions" and asserting that the Vienna attack is "part of the bill" Austria owes for its involvement in the US-led coalition fighting against the Daesh terrorist group.
SITE describes itself as a team researching terrorist networks, including "monitoring jihadist propaganda, studying trends within the online jihadist community, and understanding how jihadist groups utilize the Internet".
The attack took place in Vienna's city centre, leaving at least 15 people injured and two dead. Austrian police have launched a massive investigation into what Chancellor Sebastian Kurz has described as a "hideous terrorist attack".
According to the Austrian Interior Minister, at least one of the attackers is still at large, while another was shot, according to Vienna police. Media reports alleged that the shooter wore an explosive belt.
Shortly after the attack, leaders of countries including Russia, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Spain, and many others, expressed condolences to the Austrian people.
The formation of the US-led coalition against Daesh was announced in 2014, and it included dozens of countries, including Austria. The coalition began its military operations against the terrorist group in Iraq in coordination with the Iraqi officials, but the operations in Syria were not authorized by the Syrian government or the UN Security Council.
*Daesh - a terrorist group outlawed in Russia and many other countries.
- Source : Daria Bedenko
