By Natalia Drozdiak
Intelligence provided by the US and its partners helped thwart the planned terrorist attack at a Taylor Swift concert in Vienna this month, saving hundreds of lives, a senior US official said.
The Central Intelligence Agency and other spy groups provided Austrian authorities with information that helped lead to arrests of suspects who were believed connected to Islamic State and planned the attack, CIA Deputy Director David Cohen told the Insa intelligence conference Wednesday, spelling out the US role for the first time.
“As a result, hundreds of lives undoubtedly were saved,” Cohen said. “Within my agency and others there were people who thought that was a really good day — not just the Swifties in my workforce.”
Swift’s three concerts in Vienna, part of her sold-out Eras Tour, were canceled in early August after authorities got word of the threats. Officials had been expecting tens of thousands of fans inside and outside the stadium where the concerts were set to take place.
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The main suspect in the planned attack, a 19-year-old Austrian citizen, was in contact with two minors, including a person who was slated to work at the concert venue, officials told reporters at the time. The suspect has made a confession, and all others allegedly involved in the plot have been detained, they said.
Investigators searching the main suspect’s home about an hour’s drive south of Vienna found chemical substances, manuals on how to prepare explosive devices, knives, and material promoting the Islamic State.
Cohen offered no other details about the information the CIA had about the plot against Swift’s concerts in Vienna. In a statement to social media last week, Swift said that while she felt guilty for canceling the shows, “we were grieving concerts and not lives” thanks to the authorities.