Suspects behind failed Taylor Swift Vienna concert attack wanted to kill 'tens of thousands'

CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) Deputy Director David Cohen said that the suspects behind the thwarted plot to attack Taylor Swift's Eras Tour concerts in the Austrian capital city of Viennawanted to kill "tens of thousands" of the American singer's fans.

Speaking at a security conference in the US state of Maryland on Wednesday (August 28), Cohen revealed that intelligence provided by the CIA to Austrian authorities played a crucial role in stopping the attack earlier this month.

“They were plotting to kill a huge number, tens of thousands of people at this concert, I am sure many Americans,” Cohen said. He also credited the arrests to the cooperation between the CIA, its partners, and Austrian authorities, adding, "The Austrians were able to make those arrests because the agency and our partners in the intelligence community provided them information about what this ISIS-connected group was planning to do."

Three teenagerswere arrested in connection with the failed attack, which was allegedly inspired by the Islamic State group. However,Cohen did not disclose how the CIA became aware of the plot.

"I can tell you within my agency, and I'm sure in others, there were people who thought that was a really good day for Langley (referring to the location of the CIA headquarters in Virginia). And not just the Swifties in my workforce," he said.

Approximately 200,000 people were expected to attend one of Swift's three concerts in Vienna, which were part of the European leg of her Eras tour. The concerts, scheduled to begin on August 8, were cancelled by Barracuda Music, the event organisers, after being informed of the foiled plot by Austrian authorities.

The main suspect, a 19-year-old Austrian citizen, had reportedly pledged allegiance to the Islamic State and specifically targeted the Eras tour in hopes of “killing as many people as possible,” according to authorities.

Taylor Swift publicly addressed the planned attack for the first time last week. She expressed her devastation over the cancelled shows on Instagram, writing, "The reason for the cancellations filled me with a new sense of fear, and a tremendous amount of guilt because so many people had planned on coming to those shows. But I was also so grateful to the authorities because thanks to them, we were grieving concerts and not lives."

(With inputs from agencies)