SW News: Austrian police issued a warning on Wednesday over the possibility of an attack in Vienna targeting churches that would be motivated by radical Islam, citing information the nation's intelligence service had obtained.

Police informed the public via social media that there would be an increased presence of armed police including Special Forces in the area.

“Our intelligence services have reason to believe that an assault with an Islamist motive is planned to be carried out in Vienna. As a precautionary measure... points of interest have been put under increased guard by regular & special operation police forces,” police tweeted.

Militant attacks are uncommon in Vienna, which is among the safest capitals in the world. The first deadly attack took place in 2020 when a jihadist gunman killed four people in a shooting rampage before being shot dead by police.
Meanwhile, the Archdiocese of Vienna tweeted, “The state security has today warned of an increased risk of assassination in Vienna and increased the guarding of churches and other places of worship. According to the police, the danger is not so imminent that it would currently make a temporary closure of churches or the cancellation of services necessary."

The Austrian daily "Der Standard" stated that the cathedral priest of Vienna's St. Stephen's Cathedral, Toni Faber, had expressed his concern over the threat. Yet, he expressed his extreme happiness at the police security, particularly given the view of the cathedral in the center of Vienna. “Der Standard” said that there should already be many emergency vehicles.

The police did not elaborate but said the special measures remained in place. As a precautionary measure, increased surveillance in Vienna had been ordered.