Austria stabbing 'Islamist attack,' interior minister says
The perpetrator of a knife attack in the Austrian city of Villach was radicalized online and had links to the so-called "Islamic State" group, Austria's interior minister said.
The Syrian suspect, who randomly started attacking passersby with a knife on Saturday, was an "Islamist attacker," Interior Minister Gerhard Karner said on Sunday. The attack left a teenager killed and caused five other injuries.
"It is an Islamist attack with IS connections," Karner told reporters, adding that the suspect was radicalized online "in a short space of time."
What else do we know about the attack?
Interior Minister Karner said Sunday he felt "anger about an Islamist attacker who indiscriminately stabbed innocent people here in this city."
The suspect used a folding knife to target passersby, police said. He was arrested shortly after the attack, when another Syrian — a food delivery driver — stopped him by ramming him with his car.
State governor Peter Kaiser thanked a 42-year-old Syrian man.
"This shows how closely terrorist evil but also human good can be united in one and the same nationality," he said.
The suspect is an asylum seeker but has a valid residence permit and no criminal record, police said.
Rare attack restarts migration debate
Austria's President Alexander Van der Bellen condemned the attack as "horrific."
"No words can undo the suffering, the horror, the fear. My thoughts are with the family of the deceased victim and the injured," he said on X.
Carinthia Governor Peter Kaiser of the Social Democrats called for the "harshest consequences" for this "unbelievable atrocity."
Far-right leader Herbert Kickl meanwhile called for a "rigorous clamp-down on asylum."
Kickl's Freedom Party (FPÖ) unprecedentedly topped last September's national elections, but announced earlier this week it had failed to form a government with the runner-up and incumbent conservatives. The parties failed to reach consensus on who would hold sensitive cabinet posts dealing with security.
Syrians condemn the attack
The Free Syrian Community in Austria also condemned the attack and distanced itself from it in a statement on Facebook.
"We would like to emphasize: Anyone who causes strife and disturbs the peace of society does not represent the Syrians who have sought and received protection here," the statement said.
Austria, like many other countries in Europe, hosts a sizable Syrian community, the majority of whom fled during the civil war which lasted over a decade.
When Syria's Bashar Assad was ousted in December's lightning offensive, Austria joined a host of European countries that froze pending asylum requests from Syrians. The country also stopped family reunifications, sending out at least 2,400 letters to revoke refugee status.
The Austrian Interior Ministry said it was preparing "an orderly repatriation and deportation program to Syria."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Observer
13 hours ago
- Observer
UN urges ratification of treaty to protect the planet's fragile oceans
NICE: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday urged world leaders to ratify a treaty that would allow nations to establish protected marine areas in international waters, warning that human activity was destroying ocean ecosystems. Guterres, speaking at the opening of the third UN Ocean Conference in Nice, cautioned that illegal fishing, plastic pollution and rising sea temperatures threatened delicate ecosystems and the people who depend on them. "The ocean is the ultimate shared resource. But we are failing it," Guterres said, citing collapsing fish stocks, rising sea levels and ocean acidification. Oceans also provide a vital buffer against climate change, by absorbing around 30 per cent of planet-heating CO2 emissions. But as the oceans heat up, hotter waters are destroying marine ecosystems and threatening the oceans' ability to absorb CO2. "These are symptoms of a system in crisis — and they are feeding off each other. Unravelling food chains. Destroying livelihoods. Deepening insecurity." The High Seas Treaty, adopted in 2023, would permit countries to establish marine parks in international waters, which cover nearly two-thirds of the ocean and are largely unregulated. Hitherto, only an estimated 1per cent of international waters, known as the "high seas", have been protected. The drive for nations to turn years of promises into meaningful protection for the oceans comes as President Donald Trump pulls the United States and its money out of climate projects and as some European governments weaken green policy commitments as they seek to support anaemic economies and fend off nationalists. The United States has not yet ratified the treaty and will not do so during the conference, Rebecca Hubbard, director of The High Seas Alliance, said. "If they don't ratify, they are not bound by it," she said. "The implementation will take years but it is critical we start now and we won't let the US absence stop that from happening." French President Emmanuel Macron, the conference's co-host, told delegates that 50 countries had now ratified the treaty and that another 15 had promised to do so. The treaty will only come into force once 60 countries ratify it. Macron's foreign minister said he expected that would happen before the end of the year. The United States has not sent a high-level delegation to the conference. "It's not a surprise, we know the American administration's position on these issues," Macron told reporters late on Sunday. Britain's Prince William said protecting the planet's oceans was a challenge "like none we have faced before". Ocean experts have also seized on the conference as an opportunity to rally investment for the ocean economy, which has long struggled to attract sizeable funding commitments. At a two-day gathering of bankers and investors in Monaco over the weekend, philanthropists, private investors and public banks committed 8.7 billion euros over five years to support a regenerative and sustainable blue economy. — Reuters
Muscat Daily
17 hours ago
- Muscat Daily
Ukraine, Russia begin complex POW Exchange
Kyiv, Ukraine – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said a prisoner-of-war swap between Russia and Ukraine is underway. He posted pictures online of Ukrainians 'returning home from Russian captivity'. 'Today, an exchange began, which will continue in several stages over the coming days,' Zelenskyy said. Over the weekend, Russia accused Ukraine of delaying the prisoner swap that will also include an exchange of soldiers' bodies. Ukraine, however, said there was no fixed date for the swap and that Russia was not adhering to the agreements about the exchange. 'The process is quite complex, with many sensitive details, and negotiations continue virtually every day,' Zelenskyy said on Monday. Russian strike targets key airfield Ukraine's Air Force has released more details about a large overnight Russian strike, confirming that a military airfield in the west of the country was among the main targets. 'The main strike was targeting… one of the operational airfields. There are some hits,' Air Force spokesperson Yuriy Ihnat told Ukrainian TV, without elaborating on the extent of the damage. According to Ukrainian regional authorities, the airfield is located in Dubno, approximately 60km (40 miles) from Ukraine's border with Poland. Meanwhile, a Ukrainian drone strike deep into Russia forced a temporary suspension of production at an electronics company in the Volga River region of Chuvashia, the head of the region said. 'This morning, Ukrainian attempts to use drones in Chuvashia were detected,' regional governor Oleg Nikolayev wrote on Telegram. Moscow reported that debris from intercepted drones fell on the facility, while Ukraine stated there was a direct hit on the site. The factory is 1,300km (800 miles) from the Ukraine-Russia border and, according to Kyiv, 'specialises in manufacturing navigation equipment used in attack drones, guided aerial bombs, and high-precision weapons'. Russia slams NATO 'aggression' The Kremlin has sharply criticised NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte's proposal to significantly boost the alliance's air and missile defence capabilities, calling the move 'confrontational'. '(NATO) is not an instrument for maintaining stability and security on the continent. It is an instrument created for confrontation and has so far kept its true nature disguised. Now it is showing its real nature,' Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters when asked about the proposal. Peskov also warned that European citizens would bear the financial burden of the plan. 'European taxpayers will spend their money to defuse some threat that they say comes from our country, but it is nothing but an ephemeral threat,' he said. His remarks come despite repeated threats from senior Russian officials toward NATO since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, including warnings about nuclear strikes. Poland scrambles jets Poland scrambled warplanes on Monday to secure its airspace as Russia launched hundreds of drones at Ukraine. 'Due to the intensive air attack by the Russian Federation on the territory of Ukraine, Polish and allied aircraft began to operate in Polish airspace in the morning,' Warsaw's Operational Command said in a statement on Facebook. Poland is one of Ukraine's closest allies and a member of NATO. It has reported breaches of its airspace during previous Russian attacks. In March 2024, Poland reported that a Russian cruise missile had violated its airspace and demanded an explanation from Moscow. A similar incident occurred in December 2023. DW
Observer
3 days ago
- Observer
Syrian authorities announce closure of notorious desert camp
DAMASCUS: A notorious desert refugee camp in Syria has closed after the last remaining families returned to their areas of origin, Syrian authorities said on Saturday. The Rukban camp in Syria's desert was established in 2014, at the height of Syria's civil war, in a de-confliction zone controlled by the US-led coalition fighting the IS group, near the borders with Jordan and Iraq. Desperate people fleeing IS gunmen and former government bombardment sought refuge there, hoping to cross into Jordan. Former Syrian President Bashar al Assad's government rarely allowed aid to enter the camp and neighbouring countries closed their borders to the area, isolating Rukban for years. After an offensive toppled Assad in December, families started leaving the camp to return home. The Syrian Emergency Task Force, a US-based organisation, said on Friday that the camp was "officially closed and empty, all families and residents have returned to their homes". Syrian Information Minister Hamza al Mustafa said on X on Saturday that "with the dismantlement of the Rukban camp and the return of the displaced, a tragic and sorrowful chapter of displacement stories created by the bygone regime's war machine comes to a close". "Rukban was not just a camp, it was the triangle of death that bore witness to the cruelty of siege and starvation, where the regime left people to face their painful fate in the barren desert," he added. At its peak, the camp housed more than 100,000 people. The numbers dwindled with time, especially after Jordan sealed off its side of the border and stopped regular aid deliveries in 2016. Around 8,000 people still lived there before Assad's fall, residing in mud-brick houses, with food and basic supplies smuggled in at high prices. Syrian minister for emergency situations and disasters Raed al Saleh said on X the camp's closure represents "the end of one of the harshest humanitarian tragedies faced by our displaced people". "We hope this step marks the beginning of a path that ends the suffering of the remaining camps and returns their residents to their homes with dignity and safety," he added. According to the International Organization for Migration, 1.87 million Syrians have returned to their places of origin since Assad's fall, after they were displaced within the country or abroad. The IOM says the "lack of economic opportunities and essential services pose the greatest challenge" for those returning home. Syria's interim President Ahmed al Sharaa on Friday visited the southern city of Daraa, the cradle of the country's uprising, for the first time since ousting longtime ruler Bashar al Assad almost six months ago. State news agency SANA published footage showing a cheering crowd greeting Al Sharaa, who was seen waving and shaking hands with people during the visit, which came on the Muslim holiday of Eid Al Adha. — AFP
