Terrorists Caught Plotting Christian Massacres at Christmas Market Attacks in Europe
Austrian police foil planned attacks in Salzburg, Germany, France, and Luxembourg
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Authorities in Austria have caught terrorists plotting to carry out deadly attacks against Christians, foiling several planned massacres at Christmas markets across Europe, according to reports.
Austrian police say they've arrested three men in connection with the plot.
The gang had allegedly planned to carry out a series of Christmas Market attacks in various European countries.
A 24-year-old man and two of his alleged accomplices have been charged for the planned attacks, Zeit Online reports.
The identities of the suspects have not been released by police.
The three men are believed to have been planning several terrorist attacks in Europe on behalf of a terrorist group that authorities have yet to name.
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The 24-year-old, who has a criminal record for his membership in a terrorist organization, allegedly planned to bomb a Christmas market in Vienna after first escaping from prison.
He then planned to continue his rampage by carrying out deadly attacks in Salzburg, Germany, France, and Luxembourg.
The primary suspect has since been transferred to a maximum-security prison.
The three suspects were in regular contact via cell phone, despite such devices being banned in Austrian prisons.
The two alleged accomplices, men aged 25 and 31, have been arrested by authorities in Austria for their role in the plan to help the main suspect escape from prison.
The 25-year-old made a fake Romanian passport for the 24-year-old suspect.
It remains unclear whether the two suspects, who weren’t in prison at the time, were planning to play a role in the actual attacks.
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The suspects’ lawyers have confirmed the allegations.
They admit that their clients were in contact with the 24-year-old prisoner who had allegedly been planning the Christmas Market attack in Vienna.
However, the lawyers contend that their clients’ conversations with the primary suspect were entirely private and that the two knew nothing about his plans to attack the Christmas Market.
In December 2016, a hijacked lorry drove into a Berlin Christmas market at 40mph, killing 12 people in a suspected ISIS attack.
The perpetrator was Anis Amri, a Tunisian failed asylum seeker.
Four days after the attack, he was killed in a shootout with police near Milan in Italy.
