Police are launching a raid and arrest campaign in Vienna in search of people suspected of having links to the attacker on Monday, which killed 4 people.
While the Austrian Chancellor commented on the attack, the French President made statements from inside the Austrian embassy in Paris, and Germany announced security measures on its borders.
Austrian Interior Minister Karl Niehammer says today, Tuesday, that the perpetrator of the bloody attack had succeeded in "deceiving" the extremist rehabilitation program and those charged with following it.
New information indicates that the attacker was previously sentenced to 22 months in prison in April 2019 for trying to go to Syria to join the Islamic State, but he was released early, and the minister criticized the perpetrator's release.
Nihamer said that so far, 14 people have been arrested and 18 raids have been carried out in the country, in search of people presumably linked to the perpetrator of the attack that was killed by the police.
The Ministry of Interior said that the attacker was named Kogtim Faizullah, who was 20 years old and had the nationalities of Austria and North Macedonia.
The minister explained that the police managed to eliminate the man within 9 minutes.
The attack began around 8 pm local time (1900 GMT) on Monday.
Nihamer said that officers from a specialized unit were called to the site of the accident, and that they ended the incident by shooting the man at 8-9 minutes.
He added that their rapid intervention prevented the situation from deteriorating.
A police spokesman said about 1,000 officers were taking part in the search.
The army is guarding sensitive sites in the city to free the police for the campaign.
Austria's advisor pledged to pursue the perpetrators and those behind them (Reuters)
The quality of the conflict
Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Curtis pledged to pursue these people by all available means, so "we will pursue the perpetrators and those behind them."
He said that an elderly man and woman, a young bystander, and a waitress were killed in cold blood, and that there were 14 wounded, some of them struggling to die.
"Yesterday's attack was clearly an Islamic terrorist. This is not a conflict between Christians and Muslims or between Austrians and immigrants. No, it is a struggle between many who believe in peace and a few (who do not believe in it). It is a war between civilization and barbarism," he added in a televised speech.
Broad condemnation
German Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed her shock at the attacks that took place in central Vienna, and declared her solidarity with her neighbor in the battle against what she described as "the terrorism of extremist Islamic thought."
"In these difficult hours in which Vienna has become a target of terrorist violence, my mind and my heart are with the residents there, and the security forces are facing danger," Merkel said in a statement posted on Twitter by her spokesperson.
Germany stepped up checks at the border with Austria after the attack.
For his part, Russian President Vladimir Putin condemned the attack today, describing it as a "heinous and horrific crime."
In the United States, President Donald Trump condemned the attack, writing on Twitter, "We pray for the people of Vienna after another vicious terrorist act in Europe. These vicious attacks against innocent people must stop. The United States stands with Austria, France and the rest of Europe in the war against terrorists." , Including the extremist Islamic terrorists. "
For his part, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, condemned the attack in Vienna, and offered his condolences to the families of the victims.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson condemned the terrorist attack in Vienna and expressed solidarity with the Austrians.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu also condemned the attack and stressed the need to continue the struggle against the ideology of those who exploit the Islamic religion.
Cavusoglu added that he offered his condolences to his Austrian counterpart for the victims of the terrorist attack by phone.
In the same context, the minister praised two Turkish men who rescued a woman and a policeman during the terrorist attack, and said, "Thank you, we are proud of you."
Macron: We will not concede anything, and there must be a European response to those who attack our values (Reuters)
Macron speaks
For his part, French President Emmanuel Macron visited the Austrian embassy in Paris today to express his "unconditional" support for the Austrian people, and to call for a European response to "the enemies that attack Europe."
"We will do everything, as Europeans, to stand together and fight this scourge of terrorism, and to move forward without abandoning any of our values," Macron said.
The attack comes a few days after a stabbing attack in Nice, France, which left dead and wounded, and amid the anger of the Islamic world at the French cartoons that mock the Prophet of Islam, Muhammad, may God bless him and grant him peace.
Macron returned to saying, "Vienna represents the true embodiment of our values. This attack also indicates the will of our enemies to attack the reality of Europe, the land of freedom, culture and values, and therefore we will not give up anything."