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Austria must be prepared for terror attacks: official

Xinhua, July 29, 2016 Adjust font size:

Austrian Defense Minister Hans Peter Doskozil has called for a more comprehensive strategy for defending against domestic terror attacks in order to be best prepared should one occur.

In an interview with the Krone newspaper published Thursday, Doskozil said while there is no obvious threat in Austria at present, there is "terror in Europe," and for this reason the country must be ready.

"Nothing should occur where we later say, we were not prepared for it," he added.

The minister said he is in agreement with Interior Minister Wolfgang Sobotka over needing a stricter approach. This is to include a more clearly-defined division of powers between the army and federal police.

He noted there is currently a commission made of experts from both the defense and interior ministries who are looking into how this should best be done.

Concerning amendments to, or a tightening of the actual anti-terror laws, Doskozil said a need for this could not yet be ascertained, going from advice given by experts in the relevant ministries.

In a separate interview on Thursday, Chancellor Christian Kern said he believed the present laws were enough. Enditem