The following report is now a complimentary offering from MEMRI's Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM). For JTTM subscription information, click here.
On August 7, 2024, news reports said that American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift cancelled her three concerts that were scheduled to take place in Vienna, Austria on August 8-11, 2024.[1]
The cancellation comes as local authorities announced on August 8 that there was a plot of a suicide attack that would target her show. Austrian authorities arrested three teenage suspects who were unearthing chemicals, explosive devices, and detonators at the house of one of them. News reports said the police also found Islamic State (ISIS) propaganda material, 21,000 Euros in counterfeit money, machetes, knives, and anabolic steroids.[2]
Commenting on the news, the pro-ISIS Bariqa News Agency published a post on Telegram confirming that the suspects were ISIS's lone wolves. It also considered the cancellation of the concerts as evidence of its growing threat and reach.
"ISIS Wolves Threatened Swift's Concerts"
Mocking ISIS's jihadi rivals, Al-Qaeda and the Afghan Taliban, for failing to inspire lone wolf attacks in the West, the pro-ISIS Telegram channel ridiculed Al-Qaeda supporters, whom it said that they have been taking credit for the plot against Swift's concert: "The unbeliever American singer Taylor Swift's concerts in Austria were canceled due to threats from the apostate Al-Qaeda militia... sorry! Due to the threats of the apostate Taliban militia... Are you seriously buying this – her three concerts were canceled due to threats from the wolves of the Islamic State," reads the post.
Concerts As A Target
On March 22, ISIS claimed responsibility for the deadly attack that took place in a Moscow concert hall the same day when several gunmen opened fire at Crocus City Hall, a popular concert venue on the outskirts of Moscow. Over the years, music venues, especially in Europe, have become targets for mass attacks by ISIS operatives. In November 2015, ISIS gunmen attacked the Bataclan theater in Paris killing at least 130 people in total.[3] In May 2017, the group claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England, killing 22 people.[4]
[1] Reuters.com/world/europe/taylor-swift-vienna-concerts-cancelled-due-planned-attack-organizer-says-2024-08-07, August 7, 2024.
[2]ABCnews.go.com/International/chemical-substances-technical-devices-found-home-austrian-terror/story?id=112669660, August 8, 2024.
[3] Cnn.com/2015/12/08/europe/2015-paris-terror-attacks-fast-facts/index.html, November 2, 2023.
[4] Nbcnews.com/manchester-concert-explosion, accessed August 8, 2024.
