A CIA official has revealed that the agency was instrumental in preventing an ISIS terror attack that aimed to k!ll “tens of thousands” of fans at Taylor Swift’s Vienna concert.
Speaking at an Intelligence and National Security Summit in Maryland on Wednesday, CIA Deputy Director David Cohen stated that the agency provided crucial information to Austrian authorities about four individuals connected to the Islamic State who were plotting the attack.
“They were planning to k!ll a large number, tens of thousands of people at this concert, including many Americans,” Cohen said, according to the New York Times.
He added that some of those arrested were found with bomb-making materials and had direct access to the venue, where three Eras Tour shows were scheduled.
The concerts, expected to draw 200,000 attendees from August 8 to August 10 at Vienna’s Ernst Happel Stadium, were promptly canceled after the arrests.
On August 7, Austrian authorities arrested two individuals suspected of plotting the attack, with further arrests occurring in the days that followed.
Cohen did not detail how the CIA discovered the planned attack but noted, “I can tell you that within my agency and others, there were people who thought that was a really good day for Langley,” referring to CIA headquarters, “and not just for the Swifties in the workforce.”
Three people have been arrested in connection with the plot, including 19-year-old Austrian ISIS supporter Beran A., who had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State and targeted Swift’s tour. He is currently the main suspect.
The other suspects arrested include a 17-year-old Austrian and an 18-year-old Iraqi, whose identities have not been disclosed.
It was found that Beran A. had been constructing a bomb in his parents’ backyard. Earlier this month, German intelligence sources suggested he had been radicalized by the notorious hate preacher Abul Baraa in Berlin.
According to the German magazine Profil, Beran A. attended a business school in Neunkirchen, where he was required to repeat a year. Former classmates described him as having a history of violent behavior toward girls.