186 officers on duty

Blood money: state security agents expose terror network

The suspects are said to have collected donations for the Islamic State terrorist group.(Bild: EPA/APA/MOHAMMED SABER)

Fundraisers for the Islamic State were caught in raids in several federal states. One Chechen is in custody.

The Directorate for State Protection and Intelligence (DSN) had been on the trail of eight men and one woman for some time. The state security agents had had the suspects' messenger services in their sights for months - on Thursday, the officers in Vienna, Carinthia, Styria, Vorarlberg and Salzburg finally struck.

Cell phone, laptops and documents seized
Dozens of cell phones, laptops, a forged passport, a Mercedes E-220 and several 10,000 euros were seized during the coordinated house searches.

What the squad is accused of: They are said to have radical Islamist sentiments and to have "set up" donations on a large scale for the terrorist organization Islamic State. 

Nine suspected techies 
"Behind Islamist terrorism are strictly organized extremist networks that also use Austria as an area of operation," explains DSN Director Omar Haijawi-Pirchner, "thanks to the great work of the investigators, we were able to uncover this network."

Of the nine suspects - all Chechens - one was taken away in handcuffs and the rest were immediately questioned. Exactly 186 law enforcement officers were deployed throughout Austria during the operation.

Thanks to sustained investigations and international cooperation, the DSN has succeeded in striking an important blow against terrorist financing.

Gerhard Karner, Innenminister (ÖVP)

Bild: APA/Georg Hochmuth

The scam used by the IS organization that has just been blown up in Austria is not new: people susceptible to extremism are contacted via social networks (where the group has developed an extensive online presence), propaganda is targeted and financial support is requested. It is often not apparent to the donors that the money collected by members of such terrorist financing networks is actually being used for a terrorist purpose - the purpose of wiping out human lives.