vienna
AP
—
Austria’s domestic intelligence agency has discovered a cache of weapons believed to be linked to the Palestinian militant group Hamas in Vienna for use in “possible terrorist attacks in Europe,” the government announced Thursday.
A 39-year-old unidentified British national with “close links to the armory” was arrested in London on Monday, according to a Home Office statement.
“Based on the current state of the investigation, Israeli or Jewish institutions in Europe are likely to be the targets of these attacks,” it added.
The weapons cache and suspects were part of an internationally coordinated investigation by the country’s Directorate of Security and Intelligence (DSN) into a “global terrorist organization linked to Hamas.”
The ministry said that during the investigation, its intelligence services discovered “suspects of a group bringing weapons to Austria for use in possible terrorist attacks in Europe.”
The German Federal Prosecutor’s Office late Thursday identified the suspect as Mohammed A. along Germany’s Privacy Line. The newspaper said in a statement that he met twice with Abdel al-G, who was arrested in Germany last month on suspicion of planning attacks on Israeli or Jewish facilities in Germany.
“On these occasions, Mohammed A. took over five pistols and ammunition from Abed al-G. He then transported the weapons to Austria and stored them in Vienna,” the prosecutor’s statement said. “These acts served to prepare terrorist attacks against Israeli or Jewish facilities in Germany.”
The statement said the suspect would be produced before a preliminary judge at Germany’s Federal Court of Justice “following his extradition from the UK.”
Hamas denied any ties to the suspects arrested in Germany last month and said in a statement at the time that allegations of ties to the group were unfounded. The group has carried out hundreds of attacks against Israeli civilians over the years, but rarely operates outside of Israel and the Palestinian territories.
A cache of weapons believed to be from an unspecified foreign operation linked to Hamas was discovered in a suitcase in a rented warehouse in Vienna, containing five handguns and 10 attached magazines.
“This incident once again shows that the Directorate General for National Security and Intelligence has an excellent international network and takes consistent action against all forms of extremism,” said Austrian Interior Minister Gerhard Kerner. “The mission is clear: zero tolerance for terrorists.”
Britain’s National Crime Agency confirmed on Thursday that the 39-year-old man was arrested by specialist officers from the NCA National Extradition Unit in central London on Monday. He has been remanded in custody until his next appearance at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Monday.
