VIENNA, Oct 2: Austrian authorities said on Tuesday they arrested a second Bosnian suspect in an apparent plot to bomb the US Embassy in Vienna, and that the would-be bomber had contacted the embassy before the attempt.
Officials said they were treating the latest suspect as a possible accomplice of Asim C., a 42-year-old unemployed Bosnian arrested on Monday after he tried to enter the embassy with a backpack containing grenades, plastic explosives and bits of metal.The public prosecutor’s office said police took Mehmed D., 34, into custody on Monday night in Tulln, a town about 25 kilometres west of Vienna.
Investigators said both the accused were citizens of Bosnia-Herzegovina who lived in Tulln and knew each other. The suspects’ last names were not released, in line with Austrian privacy laws.
Asim C. was arrested on Monday after his bag, packed with the explosives and several handfuls of nails and screws apparently intended to serve as shrapnel, set off a metal detector at the entrance to the heavily fortified embassy, which is guarded by US Marines.
He fled on foot, but was captured a short distance away after tossing the backpack into the street. It did not explode, and no one was injured.
Erik Buxbaum, Austria’s general manager for public security, told reporters on Tuesday that Asim C. said Mehmed D. had told him to bring the backpack to the embassy, and gave investigators his name and an address. But Buxbaum said Mehmed D. vehemently denied any involvement.
Police searched both men’s homes and found about half a kilogram of explosives in Asim C.’s home, Buxbaum said.
Rudolf Gollia, Buxbaum’s spokesman, later told The Associated Press that Asim C. had ‘telephone contact’ with the embassy beforehand. He declined to say when it had taken place. Buxbaum said it was unclear whether the explosives were properly rigged to go off because the grenades were not fitted with detonators.
Police said Asim C. was carrying a book containing references to Islam. The Kurier newspaper published what it said was a photo of the book, which appeared to be a Muslim prayer manual.
Muslims comprise the predominant ethnic group in Bosnia-Herzegovina, and though the vast majority are moderate or secular, authorities there have been monitoring individuals who have become radicalized and are believed to have ties to extremists.
But Doris Edelbacher, chief spokeswoman for Austria’s federal counterterrorism office, played down speculation on Tuesday that the thwarted attack may have been motivated by radical Islamic ideology.
“It is too early to speak of an Islamist background,” Buxbaum said. Edelbacher said Asim C. was incoherent and rambled to police during an interrogation that lasted deep into the evening. He ‘really confused things’, she said, without elaborating.
Buxbaum said Asim C. had received psychiatric care in the past few years. Investigators said he had no prior criminal record.—AP
