Bomb-making from the Internet

Austrian-Chechen (18) planned embassy terror attack

According to the indictment, the then 18-year-old wanted to carry out an explosive attack on the Israeli embassy in Berlin. During the house search, bomb disposal experts in special bomb-proof suits (symbolic image) had to be called in.(Bild: Krone KREATIV/Paul Zinken/APA-Images (2))

Austria's first female head of the secret service warned of the highly dangerous terrorist trend in an interview with the "Krone" newspaper – and now, as if to confirm her warning, a planned attack by a young IS fanatic has been prevented: an 18-year-old Austro-Chechen born here wanted to cause a bloodbath at the Israeli embassy in Berlin with a bomb attack.

As reported, DSN Director Sylvia Mayer had confirmed the frightening development of children's bedrooms becoming crime scenes. In 2024, almost every second terror suspect in Austria was under the age of 18. In any case, since Hamas's terrible attack on Israel more than two years ago, Islamic State has regained popularity, partly through TikTok hate preachers and radical influencers.

Murderous plan matured after IS oath of allegiance
Now comes the next spectacular case involving a teenage IS fanatic. The suspect was tried before the Berlin Court of Appeal. The Chechen, who was born in Austria and had lived here for several years – most recently with his mother, two brothers, and sister in a refugee shelter in Potsdam – was charged with planning an attack on the Israeli embassy in the German metropolis in February 2025 at the latest, after pledging allegiance to IS.

Bomb-making instructions from the internet
According to the investigating authorities, Ahkmad E. wanted to cause a bloodbath with either a homemade letter bomb or a knife and kill as many "infidels" as possible. He had obtained the instructions for building the infernal machine on the internet.

Ahkmed E., an Austro-Chechen accused of planning an attack, hides his face behind a file folder at the Berlin Court of Appeal.(Bild: Christophe Gateau)

However, he failed to obtain the explosives. The 18-year-old therefore wanted to flee to Saudi Arabia and join the radical Islamist murder gang as a fighter. To finance his trip, he had taken out two mobile phone contracts and sold the accompanying cell phones, which he had used to chat with IS supporters via a messenger service. However, he was stopped and arrested at Berlin-Brandenburg Airport.

Defendant appears remorseful and reformed in court
In court, the Austro-Chechen appeared reformed and remorseful. According to his statements, the now 19-year-old became radicalized during a visit to his father in Chechnya, which lasted several months. There, he turned to IS out of hatred for Russia. The reason was a personal crisis, accompanied by a lack of direction and perspective.

Ahkmad E. vigorously denied that he had actually planned an attack. He claimed that he was merely seeking recognition from other IS supporters. However, the judge found the young defendant to be highly lacking in empathy. Due to "delayed maturity," the 18-year-old at the time of the offense was sentenced to three years in juvenile detention for, among other things, a serious act of violence that endangered the state.