A Syrian man arrested at the scene of a stabbing that killed a teenager and wounded five others in Austria has admitted terrorist offences, prosecutors said on Monday. The 23-year-old suspect was detained in February in the southern city of Villach after what officials described as an “Islamist attack with Islamic State connections”.
A fellow Syrian asylum seeker working as a food deliverer stopped the attack by ramming a car into the assailant. A 14-year-old boy died in the incident, and five other people were wounded.
READ ALSO: Villach knife attack leaves 14-year-old dead, five injured
Admission of terrorist intent
Announcing charges, prosecutors said the suspect had admitted “committing terrorist offences”, including murder. In a statement, they said he had “acted with the intention of seriously intimidating the civilian population, which does not follow the goals of the terrorist organisation Islamic State”.
The suspect faces a possible sentence of 20 years in prison or life imprisonment. No date has yet been set for a court hearing.
Rare jihadist attack in Austria
Austria has previously seen only one jihadist attack, in 2020, when a convicted Islamic State sympathiser carried out a shooting in central Vienna, killing four people.
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