Investigation report: Serious government failure before the Islamist terrorist attack in Vienna

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An investigation report into the Islamist attack in Vienna on November 2nd revealed serious failings by the Austrian security authorities.

The authorities missed several opportunities to recognize and react to the danger posed by the later assassin Kujtim F., according to the first report by a government inquiry committee, which was only published in excerpts on Wednesday evening for security reasons.

After the young Islamist was released from prison in December 2019, it took until October for a risk assessment to be completed, the report said.

Accordingly, the 20-year-old from North Macedonia assumed a “high risk”.

The assassin opened fire in a lively district of Vienna in early November.

He killed four people and injured 14 others before being shot by police himself.

The Islamic State (IS) jihadist militia claimed the act for itself.

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F. had been sentenced to the previous prison term because he had tried to travel to Syria to fight on the side of the IS.

However, he did not have to serve the full 22-month sentence.

In early December 2019, he was released early after apparently faking successful participation in a deradicalization program.

The authors of the report criticized the fact that almost ten months had passed before the risk assessment for F. was “not acceptable”.

The threat posed by F. had already become clear in July when he met well-known German and Swiss Islamists.

In addition, the German authorities had informed Austria of the danger posed by F.

According to the report, the Vienna State Office for the Protection of the Constitution and Combating Terrorism (LVT) blamed a lack of resources and overwork for the delay.

According to the report, an employee of the LVT had tried to warn that F's participation in the Islamist meetings proves the existence of a “highly dangerous terrorist cell”.

However, colleagues from the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution and Combating Terrorism (BVT) had told him to keep silent.

The BVT rejects this allegation.

"I immediately took off my T-shirt to stop his bleeding"

Osama Abu El Hosna comes under fire in the terrorist attack in Vienna.

A policeman trying to get him to safety is shot in the leg by the assassin.

The 23-year-old Viennese from Gaza then becomes a lifesaver.

Source: WORLD / Deniz Yücel

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According to the report, the Austrian authorities missed another opportunity to prevent the attack in July when they were informed by the Slovak authorities that F. had tried to buy ammunition.

The BVT later received recordings from surveillance cameras from July 27, which were only forwarded to the LVT Vienna just under a month later.

This analyzed that the man on the recordings was very likely F.

According to the committee of inquiry, however, an official who called for further measures against the Islamist was ignored.

At the end of January, the committee plans to present a more detailed report.

Austria's Director General for Internal Security, Franz Ruf, announced that the findings of the investigation will be used in the current reforms of the security authorities.

Austria's conservative Chancellor Sebastian Kurz announced after the attack in Vienna that he would take decisive action against “political Islam”.