Taylor Swift concert terror plot: Iraqi national arrested, main suspect admits to planning 'bloodbath'

An Iraqi national has been arrested in Austria in connection with a foiled terror plot targeting Taylor Swift concerts. The teenager is the third person to be detained in this case, believed to be linked to the 19-year-old primary suspect, an Austrian national with North Macedonian roots.

Swift’s three concerts were cancelled in Austria after authorities said they foiled a terror attack planned for the Vienna leg of her blockbuster Eras tour.

“A planned attack on a concert event was successfully thwarted thanks to the timely intervention of the authorities. This success was made possible through extensive investigations that targeted not only the main suspects but also their surrounding network,” authorities said Friday (Aug 9).

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Austria’s interior ministry said authorities are “taking decisive action against anyone who might be involved in terrorist activities or exhibits radical tendencies.” It clarified that the third teenager was “not currently linked directly to the planned attack” but was detained under the broader scope.

Earlier, two primary suspects, a 19-year-old and a 17-year-old, were detained.

The 19-year-old suspect made a full confession in custody about his allegiance to ISIS and plans to carry out a "bloodbath". Authorities also found machetes and technical devices at his home in the town of Ternitz in preparation for an attack.

"The main perpetrator has confessed that he was supposed to carry out a suicide attack with two accomplices," said Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer.

Watch:'Eras Tour' Terror Threat: Taylor Swift fans hit the streets

They planned to cause as many casualties as possible among the estimated 20,000fans of the American singer, often referred to as"Swifties", set to gather outside Vienna's Ernst Happel Stadium, said national intelligence head Omar Haijawi-Pirchner.

Austria's general director for public security Franz Ruf said the suspects had “very specific and detailed plans.”

"The suspects actually had very specific and detailed plans...to leave a bloodbath in their wake." Authorities painted a picture of the main suspect having self-radicalised, transforming his appearance and sharing Islamist propaganda online. He quit his job on July 25, telling people he had "big plans", Ruf said.

His plan also reportedly involved driving a car into the crowd of 20,000 concert-goers and launching a brutal attack with machetes and knives.

(With inputs from agencies)