Syrian teen charged for plot to attack Taylor Swift Vienna concert | World News

German prosecutors have charged a Syrian teenager with supporting a foreign terror organisation over his alleged involvement in planning a thwarted bombing at a Taylor Swift concert in Vienna last year.
The suspect, identified as Mohammad A, is accused of assing a would-be attacker translating Arabic-language bomb-making instructions and facilitating contact with a member of the Islamic State (IS) terror group via online channels.
The Federal Prosecutor’s Office said in a statement on Friday that the juvenile had been an adherent of IS ideology since at least April 2024 and was in close contact with an Austrian suspect between mid-July and August that year.
Story continues below this ad

The alleged plan targeted Swift’s concerts at Ernst Happel Stadium in Vienna, where she was scheduled to perform three shows in August 2024. Authorities disrupted the suspected plot and made multiple arrests at the time, leading to the cancellation of all three performances.
“Mohammad A has adhered to the ideology of the terror organization Islamic State (IS) since April 2024 at the latest,” the prosecutor’s statement read. “Between mid-July and August 2024, he was in contact with a young Austrian who was planning a bomb attack on a concert singer Taylor Swift in Vienna.”
The incident sent shockwaves through Austria and prompted the government to act. Earlier this month, the country’s ruling coalition agreed to expand police surveillance powers allowing access to encrypted messaging apps used terror suspects—addressing what officials called a “dangerous blind spot” in Austria’s counterterrorism efforts.
(With inputs from Reuters)