Taylor Swift terror threat arrest made as police swoop in on Iraqi national
Taylor Swift concerts were cancelled in the capital with officers raiding several addresses
PA/Reuters
An 18-year-old Iraqi national suspected of having links to a terror plot on a Taylor Swift concert has been detained in Austrian capital Vienna.
Police swooped on an address in the city this morning, making the second arrest as part of an investigation into the plot - which could have seen some 20,000 fans targeted outside Vienna's Ernst Happel Stadium.
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 Austria's interior ministry.
Both today's detainee and the 19-year-old suspect had sworn loyalty to infamous terror group Isis.
Concourses outside the planned venue stood empty after the concerts were called off
Reuters
Officials insisted today's arrest wouldn't be the end of investigations, with more suspects set to be questioned and properties searched as the terror probe continues.
All three Vienna concerts of Swift's Eras Tour, slated for Thursday, Friday and Saturday, had been called off late on Wednesday after the deadly plans were uncovered.
And two other Austrian youths, aged 17 and 15, were detained on Wednesday over the reported plot.
The 15-year-old has been released and is being treated as a witness, Austria's Kurier newspaper reported on Friday.
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Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer said the main suspect confessed to the plot, described as a "bloodbath"
Reuters
The Iraqi suspect is reported to have sworn allegiance to Isis on August 6 - but it remains unclear whether he had anything to do with the planned attack, the outlet added.
The US state department confirmed it had been in touch with the Austrian government over the alleged plot - but did not confirm it provided the intelligence about a planned attack.
The 19-year-old of North Macedonian heritage made a full confession in custody, Austria's general director for public security Franz Ruf said yesterday.
He swore allegiance to Isis leaders online - and kept chemicals, machetes and technical devices at his home in the town of Ternitz in preparation for an attack, Ruf added.
The 19-year-old of North Macedonian heritage planned the attack at his home in Ternitz, pictured here
Reuters
He continued: "The suspects actually had very specific and detailed plans... to leave a bloodbath in their wake."
Authorities painted a picture of the main suspect having self-radicalised, transforming his appearance and sharing Islamist propaganda online.
He quit his job on July 25, telling people he had "big plans", Ruf said.
Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer corroborated Ruf's statement, saying: "The main perpetrator has confessed that he was supposed to carry out a suicide attack with two accomplices."