A deadly stabbing rampage in the Austrian town of Villach has left one teenager dead and five others injured. Authorities believe the suspect, a 23-year-old Syrian man, was radicalized online by the Islamic State (IS) group. The flag of IS was found at his apartment, and he had sworn an oath of allegiance to the terrorist organization.
The attack comes as Austria is facing increasing tensions over immigration. The far-right Freedom Party (FPO), which won the recent parliamentary election, has been critical of illegal immigration and pledged to increase deportations to countries like Syria. The party seized on the Villach attack, saying that no migrant could commit a crime in Austria if they weren’t already living there.
The attack also follows a thwarted plot by a teenager who swore loyalty to IS at a Taylor Swift concert in Vienna last August. An Afghan national carried out a similar attack in Munich just days before, injuring dozens of people and killing two.
Source: https://edition.cnn.com/2025/02/16/europe/austria-stabbing-suspect-islamist-intl/index.html