The small town of Ternitz in Lower Austria suddenly became known much more widely. It has a population of 15.000 and is located 75 kilometers southwest of Vienna. The city has a developed metal industry and a stronghold of the social democratic SPO. From Wednesday onwards, the small town in Austria no longer looks average and unspectacular, writes the Rheinische Post.

In Ternitz, 19-year-old Beran A. (Aliyi) set up his own Islamist terror center in his parents' house, where he still lives. And from there he announced through an Internet chat: "I still have big plans." This was announced by Austria's top federal police officer, Franz Ruf, at a press conference scheduled shortly.

The young man, an Austrian with origins in North Macedonia, planned a terrorist attack at a concert by the American singer Taylor Swift in Vienna. The investigators are sure of that. This attack could have resulted in many deaths. The much-loved pop star was scheduled to perform in Vienna at the Ernst Happel Stadium on Thursday, Friday and Saturday in front of around 200.000 spectators.

But due to the "concrete preparations for a terrorist attack", as police officer Ruf says "bureaucratically", the organizer canceled all the concerts. When investigators learned of the threat, they arrested the 19-year-old at his home in Ternitz early Wednesday morning, and a number of police and explosives experts arrived to conduct a thorough search. The parents and sister of Beran A. they are currently on vacation, a neighbor reports to Krone TV. The suspected terrorist always behaved in a "friendly, perfect" manner.

The findings say otherwise. Hydrogen peroxide and ready-made explosives were found. "We seized cutting and stabbing weapons," reported Omar Hayawi-Pirchner, head of the police's State Security and Intelligence Directorate. Explosive detonators and detonator cables, an operational blue light like the one used by police with a siren, €21.000 in counterfeit money and "tons of propaganda material from the terrorist group Islamic State (IS)" were found.

There is a video of the suspect in which, according to investigators, he takes an "oath of loyalty" to IS. He is said to have made a comprehensive confession during the interrogations. According to Hayavi-Pirchner, his plan was to get as far as possible into the stadium and then use the knives and explosives to "kill a large crowd of people and himself." He is "clearly radicalized by IS and thinks it's right to kill infidels," says Hayawi-Pirchner. The terrorist act was planned for Thursday or Friday.

Beran A. he also had supporters. That is why the investigators assume that it is a terrorist group. He was in active chat contact with a 17-year-old Austrian from Vienna. The young man with Turkish-Croatian roots is also in custody, but for now he refuses to make a statement. He is known to investigators as an Islamist. He was arrested in the area of ​​the stadium. Just a few days ago, he was hired by a company that worked for Swift's concert organizers. It can be assumed that he had access to the stadium.

In addition, a 15-year-old of Turkish origin who was often in contact with Beran A. is now being questioned. The two exchanged ideas about explosive devices. The younger confirmed that Beran A has changed a lot in the past few weeks. According to Officer Roof, on July 25 the 19-year-old quit his job to devote himself fully to "preparation for a terrorist attack." He "noticeably changed his appearance", read IS propaganda and spread the idea further. Therefore, radicalization happened within a few weeks.

Now it is constantly pointed out that terrorism is internationalized and that it is becoming less and less understandable. According to Constable Hayawi-Pirchner, radicalization takes place on the Internet and IS and al-Qaeda communicate there with followers around the world. Cooperation between investigators and the secret services must be just as global. The state security official reports that they received a tip about the planned attack in Vienna from a foreign service. According to the Austrian media, it is about the American CIA.

One thing is clear: the organizer of the Taylor Swift concert, Barracuda Music, canceled the concerts on its own initiative, there was no ban. Was that an exaggeration? After all, the danger seems to have been averted before the concerts? The governor of Lower Austria, Johanna Mikl-Leitner (ÖVP), is not alone in her opinion that the cancellation is "unfortunately also a success for the radical Islamists", writes the Rheinische Post.