Austrian police conduct large-scale anti-terror raids

Austrian police carried out a series of anti-terror raids here and in the southeastern Austrian city of Graz on Thursday morning as part of a large-scale crackdown on radical Islamist groups.

The Krone newspaper reported that 800 police personnel were involved in the raids, mainly targeted at "extreme Salafists," and in particular the network surrounding extremist preacher Mirsad O. who is presently in prison.

Police arrested a total of eight individuals, all of whom are said to have origins in former Yugoslavia.

The arrests, however, were reportedly not in connection with the arrest of a 17-year-old on Jan. 20 on suspicion of having intended to detonate a bomb in Vienna.

Rather, they were persons of interest who had been observed for some time, allegedly having attempted to establish a radical Islamist organization and subsequently recruit members.

The arrested teenager did, however, also acknowledge Mirsad O. as an influence, referring to him as an "idol."

The preacher was sentenced to 20 years' imprisonment in Graz in mid-2016 on terror charges, among others. Endit