A senior CIA official disclosed that the agency played a crucial role in preventing an ISIS terror attack aimed at killing tens of thousands of fans at Taylor Swift's Vienna concert. CIA Deputy Director David Cohen revealed this information while speaking at an Intelligence and National Security Summit in Maryland on Wednesday.
Cohen stated that the CIA provided Austrian authorities with vital intelligence regarding four individuals linked to the Islamic State who were planning to target Swift's concert. "They were plotting to kill a huge number, tens of thousands of people at this concert, including many Americans," Cohen mentioned, as reported by the New York Times. Some of those arrested were found with bomb-making materials and had direct access to the concert venue, where three shows from Swift's Eras Tour were scheduled to be held.
The shows, set to take place at Vienna's Ernst Happel Stadium from August 8 to August 10 with a total expected attendance of 200,000 people, were promptly canceled after the arrests. Austrian authorities apprehended two suspects on August 7, and more arrests followed in the subsequent days.
While Cohen did not elaborate on how the CIA became aware of the planned attack, he emphasized the significance of the agency's involvement: "I can tell you within my agency and others, there were people who thought that was a really good day for Langley," referring to the CIA headquarters. He humorously added, "And not just for the Swifties in the workforce."
Three people have been detained in connection with the terror plot, including 19-year-old Austrian national Beran A., who is believed to be the main suspect. He had reportedly pledged allegiance to ISIS and targeted Swift's concert. The other suspects, a 17-year-old Austrian and an 18-year-old Iraqi, have not yet been publicly identified.
German intelligence sources revealed that Beran A. had been radicalized by Abul Baraa, a well-known extremist preacher in Berlin. Reports also suggest that he was constructing a bomb in his parents' backyard. According to German magazine Profil, Beran A. attended a business school in Neunkirchen, where he was known for violent behavior towards female classmates and had to repeat a year.
This intervention by the CIA and Austrian authorities averted what could have been a catastrophic attack, ensuring the safety of thousands of concertgoers.
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