-Vienna terror attack
-Pakistan condemns “heinous terrorist attack”
Foreign Desk Report
VIENNA: Austrian police have arrested 14 people linked to the main suspect in the Vienna attack, Interior Minister Karl Nehammer said at a news conference on Tuesday.
A 20-year-old Austrian-North Macedonian dual citizen, shot by police at the scene, is the chief suspect in the attack which lifted four dead and 22 injured. Officers raided 18 residences in their investigations.
Pakistan on Tuesday strongly condemned the “heinous terrorist attack” in the Austrian capital Vienna.
“We would like to convey our deepest condolences and heartfelt sympathies to the families of the innocent victims and wish a speedy recovery to those injured,” the Pakistani Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
The statement said that Pakistan reiterates its condemnation of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.
Police sealed off much of the historic centre of Vienna, urging the public to shelter in place. Many sought refuge in bars and hotels, while public transport throughout the old town was shut down and police scoured the city.
“It is the hardest day for Austria in many years. We are dealing with a terror attack the severity of which, thank God, we have not experienced in Austria in many years,” Interior Minister Karl Nehammer told a news conference.
Austria’s capital had so far been spared the kind of deadly militant attacks that have struck Paris, London, Berlin and Brussels, among others, in recent years. Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said the “repulsive” act was “definitely a terror attack”, but he could not say what the motive was.
Oskar Deutsch, the head of Vienna’s Jewish community, which has offices adjoining the synagogue on a narrow cobbled street dotted with bars, said on Twitter here that it was not clear whether the temple or offices were targeted but that they were closed at the time.
Rabbi Schlomo Hofmeister told London’s LBC radio he was living in the compound of the synagogue. “Upon hearing shots, we looked down (from) the windows and saw the gunmen shooting at the guests of the various bars and pubs,” he said.“The gunmen were running around and shooting at least 100 rounds or even more in front of our building,” he said.
Border checks were being reinforced, the Interior Ministry said, and children would not be required to attend school on Tuesday. Although people were urged to stay indoors Vienna Mayor Michael Ludwig told broadcaster ORF the city would run normally on Tuesday, albeit with a tougher police presence.
“According to what we currently know, at least one perpetrator is still on the run,” Nehammer said.
“We have brought several special forces units together that are now searching for the presumed terrorists. I am therefore not limiting it to an area of Vienna, because these are mobile perpetrators,” Nehammer earlier told ORF.Kurz said the army would protect sites in the capital so the police could focus on anti-terror operations. Speaking to ORF, he said the attackers “were very well equipped with automatic weapons” and had “prepared professionally”.
Videos circulated on social media of a gunman running down a cobblestone street shooting and shouting. One showed a man gunning down a person outside what appeared to be a bar on the street housing the synagogue. Reuters could not immediately verify the videos.
Condolences poured in from around the world, with top officials from the European Union, France, Norway, Greece and the United States expressing their shock at the attacks.
