On Monday, a number of bomb threats were delivered to courts in Vienna, Graz and St. Pölten as well as the Austrian Jewish community and schools in the capital, the Austrian interior ministry said. According to law enforcement, the bomb threats are believed to be related to ongoing criminal proceedings and police measures against Islamists.
In addition to overt antisemitism, the bomb threats also mention the conflict in Ukraine, the ministry said.
“We will avenge them for their help to Ukraine and for killing our brothers from Chechnya,” quoted the Austrian news agency APA from the messages.
The APA noted that on the same day the bomb threats were issued, the trial of four suspected jihadists, including one man who urged families to join the Islamic State terrorist organization in Syria, began in the Graz Provincial Criminal Court on Monday.
According to the interior ministry, police took precautions and mobilized experienced bomb personnel to the locations identified in the threatening letters. However, the first inspection of the buildings concerned has so far yielded no results.
Minister of the Interior Gerhard Karner said both the state security service and intelligence have launched an investigation into the matter. He also said that investigations in close cooperation with European partners are currently focused on threats posed by Islamist terrorism.
