Vienna, 7 August 2024 (dpa/MIA) - Two individuals have been arrested on suspicion of terrorism in Austria after allegedly planning attacks at the upcoming Taylor Swift concerts in Vienna, Franz Ruf, director general for public security at the Austrian Interior Ministry, said on Wednesday.

The concerts are scheduled for Thursday and Friday.

Chemical substances were seized from a 19-year-old Austrian. The police, concerned about possible explosives, had pre-emptively evacuated houses and part of a nursing home.

The young man had become radicalized on the internet and reportedly pledged allegiance to the leadership of the terrorist organization Islamic State a few weeks ago, said Ruf.

According to police, he was arrested Wednesday morning in the town of Ternitz, 75 kilometres south-west of Vienna.

A second person was arrested in the afternoon in Vienna. The police provided no further details.

Heightened security checks will now be conducted at the Swift concerts, Vienna's Chief of Police Gerhard Pürstl said on Wednesday.

Photo: MIA archive