Up to 50 Threats Under Surveillance, but Lower Austria "Not a Hotspot for Islamists"

On Sunday, Roland Scherscher, the head of the State Office for the Protection of the Constitution and Counterterrorism (LSE), spoke to APA upon request about 25 to 50 individuals being investigated in Lower Austria on suspicion of membership in a terrorist organization. The majority of these cases involve the "Islamic State" (IS). The LSE chief denied that the state is a hotspot for radical Islamists.

Several Individuals in Lower Austria Under Investigation for Terrorist Organization

Scherscher emphasized that the higher concentration in the east of Austria is also due to the higher population density. It is, of course, the internet where radicalization mostly occurs. And the internet is "everywhere, whether in the city or in the countryside."

The news magazine "profil" (online) reported on Sunday that up to 20 suspected Islamists are under police scrutiny in Neunkirchen and Wiener Neustadt. Scherscher confirmed this number for southern Lower Austria regarding investigations on suspicion of membership in a terrorist organization. "profil" also wrote that the Korneuburg public prosecutor's office is conducting "meticulous investigations against eleven youths from the Danube region" who are suspected of Islamist terrorism.

(APA/Red)

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