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.
