Following the arrests of three men suspected of plotting terrorist attacks in Cologne and Vienna, details of the plot have emerged showing that the Islamist terrorist group’s plans included buying an anti-aircraft missile in Ukraine.
The Vienna police arrested the three suspects at an asylum shelter in Ottakring, Exxpress reports. They are believed to belong to the terrorist militia Islamic State in the Afghan province of Kohrasan (ISPK).
The group is a UN-designated terrorist organization and analysts consider it the most dangerous of the Islamic State groups.
“Recent assessments of the global jihadist milieu have identified ISPK as the most concerning Islamic State affiliate for engaging in transnational external operations,” a November report from the International Center for Counter Terrorism stated.
ISPK officially formed in January 2015 as part of the Islamic State’s second wave of expansion. According to the United States Institute for Peace, since the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in August 2021, the threat from the group has intensified. ISPK is opposed to the Taliban and has a wide presence in Afghanistan, as well as in Pakistan and other areas of Central Asia.
The European Union Agency for Asylum estimates the group numbers around 4,000 militants, including a growing number of former members of Afghanistan’s intelligence service and elite military units who joined the group as a form of resistance to the Taliban. It specialises in urban terrorism.
The details emerging about the planned attacks in Germany and Austria show the international character of the group. Exxpress reports that the group’s members came mostly from Tajikistan and that the men in police custody are one man from Chechnya and two others from Southeast Europe, and the network involved in the plot spanned Germany and Austria. They were part of a cell led from the Netherlands. Nine from the cell were arrested in a series of raids last summer.
The plans of the three suspects currently detained in Austria included not only Christmas attacks on the cathedrals of Cologne and Vienna but also an attack on a Pride parade in Vienna. One suspect had reportedly traveled to Cologne to investigate security measures around the cathedral. As part of the plan, younger jihadists were deliberately selected because they would face lower judicial penalties if caught.
One of the suspects was under a deportation order and was planning to leave the country to avoid deportation.
Exxpress also reports that the same Turkish informant whose information helped lead to the arrests told undercover police that the terrorist network was considering buying a missile from Ukrainian stocks to use in its attacks. Reportedly, a contact person who is supposed to fight in the army in the Donetsk Basin offered a ‘Stinger’ for $5,000. The FIM-92 Stinger is an infrared-guided anti-aircraft missile from the U.S. manufacturer Raytheon that is used against air targets. It can be fired from the shoulder or from land, air, or water vehicles. According to the informant, the Ukrainian often travels to Germany to offer weapons for sale.
This is likely just one of many threats from the concerning terrorist group.
