IS calls for further attacks: Villach in focus!

IS calls for further attacks: Villach in focus!

The shocking knife attack on February 15, 2025 in Villach, in which a 14-year-old boy was killed and five other people were seriously injured, made waves in Austria. The 23-year-old perpetrator, a Syrian citizen named Ahmad G., attacked passers-by with a folding knife in the city center and called "Allahu Akbar" during the act. Due to his radical attitude, the police found flags from the Islamic State (IS) when he was searched for. The Austrian Interior Minister Gerhard Karner said that it was an Islamist attack with IS-related. For the man who watched the crime and stopped the perpetrator with his car, it was a brave but confusing moment; He was incorrectly thought to be another attacker when he flew to the police after rammed the perpetrator, as Wikipedia

IS call to other attacks

In the result of the attack, threatening postings have increasingly appeared on social media, which call up to imitate the attack. According to 5 minutes , a variety of articles glore the deeds in Villach and Munich and ask to carry out further "assassinations". A post asked the words "let's slaughter", while another suggested to consider the streets as "full goals". The government of the state protection and intelligence service (DSN) was informed about the dangerous content and carefully checks the matter in order to recognize and combat potential threats at an early stage.

In addition, the Austrian population reacted to the tragedy; A funeral march with 4,000 participants, including prominent politicians and church representatives, took place on February 18 in Villach. However, the Islamic faith community in Austria undertakes everything in its power to promote peace and social cohesion, but warned of the growing risk of online radicalization. Experts emphasize that such extremist views are increasingly spreading on the Internet and can quickly lead to such brutal acts.