Third suspect detained over Taylor Swift Vienna concert plot

VIENNA (AFP) — Austria on Friday said it had detained a third alleged Islamic State sympathizer over a plot to carry out a suicide attack at a Taylor Swift concert in Vienna.

The Vienna leg of the music icon's blockbuster "Eras" tour was cancelled after police on Wednesday arrested two suspects, ages 19 and 17, over a plot to kill "a large number of people" at one of the three gigs this week, according to authorities.

On Friday Interior Ministry Gerhard Karner said that "an 18-year-old Iraqi close to the main suspect and who pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group was arrested" in the Austrian capital on Thursday.

The main suspect, a 19-year-old Austrian with North Macedonian roots had allegedly confessed, saying he "intended to carry out an attack using explosives and knives," domestic intelligence agency head Omar Haijawi-Pirchner has told journalists.

The second suspect, a 17-year-old Austrian of Turkish and Croatian origin, had just been hired by a facility management company that would have "provided services" at the Ernst Happel Stadium where Swift was to perform, said Haijawi-Pirchner.

Conservative Chancellor Karl Nehammer said there were "concrete and detailed" plans to commit a "bloodbath."

The Austrian army's intelligence service was warned of a looming attack 10 to 15 days prior by two unspecified countries that helped it foil the plot, according to news agency APA.

Swift was set to perform three shows from Thursday to Saturday in Vienna as part of her mega record-breaking "Eras" tour.

The European leg of the sold-out tour began in Paris in May and has taken in Sweden, Portugal, Spain, the United Kingdom, Ireland, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Italy, Germany and Poland. 

In Austria, the shows had been expected to bring in some 100 million euros and gather 170,000 fans, according to APA estimates.

Swift has not yet commented on the decision to cancel the Vienna shows but said she was "completely in shock" after a deadly attack in Britain on July 29 at a Swift-themed dance class.

Three girls were killed and five people seriously wounded in the mass stabbing at the class in Southport, England.

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By Agence France-Presse

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