The CIA (the US’ Central Intelligence Agency) has said that the suspects from the foiled terror attack at a Taylor Swift concert in the Austrian capital of Vienna wanted to kill a “huge number” of people.
The Austrian authorities were able to disrupt the plot and save “hundreds of lives”, said CIA deputy director David Cohen, according to reports.
Austrian authorities were notified of the plot, which allegedly included links to the Islamic State group. Three male teenage suspects were arrested in connection with the planned attacks, and the three sold-out Eras Tour concerts, due to take place earlier this month at Ernst Happel Stadion, were subsequently cancelled.
Speaking at the annual Intelligence and National Security Summit this week in Maryland, Cohen said: “They were plotting to kill a huge number – tens of thousands of people at this concert, included I am sure many Americans – and were quite advanced in this.
“The Austrians were able to make those arrests because the agency and our partners in the intelligence community provided them with information about what this ISIS-connected group was planning to do.”
Swift went on to play a further five shows at London’s Wembley Stadium, which were unaffected by the foiled terror plot. However, the English capital’s Metropolitan Police banned fans without tickets from gathering outside of the venue, which had become a tradition on the tour.
The US singer’s eight dates at Wembley – which included three concerts that had already been held in June – set a new record and concluded the European leg of the Eras Tour.
Swift will next perform at Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium on October 18. The Eras Tour will eventually wrap up on December 8 at BC Place in Vancouver, Canada.
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