Iraqi Teen Detained in Vienna after Taylor Swift Concert Attack Plot Foiled

A police vehicle patrols as fans of the singer Taylor Swift gather following the cancellation of three Taylor Swift concerts at Happel stadium after the government confirmed a planned attack at the venue, in Vienna, Austria August 8, 2024. REUTERS/Elisabeth Mandl
A police vehicle patrols as fans of the singer Taylor Swift gather following the cancellation of three Taylor Swift concerts at Happel stadium after the government confirmed a planned attack at the venue, in Vienna, Austria August 8, 2024. REUTERS/Elisabeth Mandl
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Iraqi Teen Detained in Vienna after Taylor Swift Concert Attack Plot Foiled

A police vehicle patrols as fans of the singer Taylor Swift gather following the cancellation of three Taylor Swift concerts at Happel stadium after the government confirmed a planned attack at the venue, in Vienna, Austria August 8, 2024. REUTERS/Elisabeth Mandl
A police vehicle patrols as fans of the singer Taylor Swift gather following the cancellation of three Taylor Swift concerts at Happel stadium after the government confirmed a planned attack at the venue, in Vienna, Austria August 8, 2024. REUTERS/Elisabeth Mandl

An 18-year-old Iraqi national was detained in Vienna in connection with investigations into an alleged plot to strike a Taylor Swift concert in the Austrian capital, the interior ministry said on Friday.

The Iraqi national is said to have come from the same circle as the main suspect, a 19-year-old Austrian with North Macedonian roots, according to the ministry.

The main suspect, who had vowed loyalty to ISIS, was planning a lethal assault among the estimated 20,000 "Swiftie" fans set to gather outside Vienna's Ernst Happel Stadium.

Two other Austrian youths aged 17 and 15 were detained on Wednesday over the reported plot.
The 15-year-old has meanwhile been released and is being treated as a witness, the Kurier newspaper reported on Friday.

The Iraqi suspect is reported to have sworn allegiance to ISIS on Aug. 6, but it remains unclear whether he had anything to do with the planned attack, the newspaper reported.

Three sold-out concerts in Vienna, part of Swift's Eras Tours show, were canceled by organizers after officials announced the arrests over an apparent plot to attack her shows, saying they appeared to be inspired by ISIS and al-Qaeda.

The foiled attack was planned for Thursday or Friday, according to Austria’s interior minister, Gerhard Karner.

Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer defended the decision to cancel the concerts, saying the arrests of the suspects took place too close to the shows, scheduled for Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

“I understand very well that those who wanted to experience the concert live are very sad,” Nehammer told a news conference Thursday. “Moms and dads are looking after their daughters and sons, who were full of enthusiasm and anticipation for this concert. But it’s also important that in such serious moments as now, it’s inevitable that safety comes first.”

Officials said one of the two confessed to planning to “kill as many people as possible outside the concert venue.”

Swift is also scheduled to perform at London’s Wembley stadium in five concerts between Aug. 15 and 20 to close the European leg of her record-setting Eras Tour.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan said that while he understood Vienna’s reasons for canceling, “We’re going to carry on.” Khan said the capital’s authorities were prepared for shows there following lessons learned from a 2017 attack at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England, that killed 22 people.



Masked Rioters Attack Highway in Central France

Police officers pass a boarded up high street shop on the Champs Elysees ahead of the FIFA Club World Cup final between Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain tonight, and Bastille Day celebrations tomorrow, in Paris, France, July 13, 2025. REUTERS/Tom Nicholson
Police officers pass a boarded up high street shop on the Champs Elysees ahead of the FIFA Club World Cup final between Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain tonight, and Bastille Day celebrations tomorrow, in Paris, France, July 13, 2025. REUTERS/Tom Nicholson
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Masked Rioters Attack Highway in Central France

Police officers pass a boarded up high street shop on the Champs Elysees ahead of the FIFA Club World Cup final between Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain tonight, and Bastille Day celebrations tomorrow, in Paris, France, July 13, 2025. REUTERS/Tom Nicholson
Police officers pass a boarded up high street shop on the Champs Elysees ahead of the FIFA Club World Cup final between Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain tonight, and Bastille Day celebrations tomorrow, in Paris, France, July 13, 2025. REUTERS/Tom Nicholson

Dozens of masked assailants wielding metal bars and Molotov cocktails attacked cars on a highway and clashed with police Saturday in the city of Limoges in central France, officials said.

The overnight clashes left 10 police wounded, according to authorities, who said they suspect a gang turf war.

The unrest came in the middle of France's summer tourism season.

The armed attackers descended on the RN141 highway and tried to block it during a battle with police, according to officials.

"There were between 100 and 150 masked individuals, armed with Molotov cocktails, fireworks, stones, iron bars and baseball bats," local police union leader Laurent Nadeau told AFP.

Police responded with tear gas and crowd-control munitions.

Mayor Emile Roger Lombertie called the rioters an "urban guerrilla group".

"They're organized, structured, there's a plan, weapons," he said.

"This was not a spontaneous protest to complain about something. No pretext, nothing. It's about destroying things and showing the territory belongs to you," Lombertie added.

Prosecutors said vehicles were attacked but there were no immediate reports of wounded drivers.

Unrest had erupted nearby, in Val de l'Aurence, on the night of July 14, France's national day.

Lombertie said this "very poor neighborhood, with young people from immigrant backgrounds" had become a "lawless zone".

France's interior ministry announced on Saturday plans to deploy a special security force to the city.