VIENNA: An Austrian teenager arrested over an alleged plot to strike a Taylor Swift concert in Vienna had built explosive devices for his attack and had pledged loyalty to Islamic State, authorities said on Thursday. The 19-year-old man, who has North Macedonian roots, made a full confession in custody, Austria’s general director for public security Franz Ruf told a news conference.

He swore allegiance to the IS group’s leader on the internet and had chemicals, machetes, and technical devices at his home in the town of Ternitz in preparation for an attack, Ruf added. The suspect, whose name was not given, was planning a lethal assault among the estimated 20,000 “Swiftie” fans set to gather outside Ernst Happel Stadium, said national intelligence head Omar Haijawi-Pirchner.“

He wanted to carry out an attack in the area outside the stadium, killing as many people as possible using the knives or even using the explosive devices he had made,” he said, adding there were no explicit threats to other concerts. Two other Austrian youths aged 17 and 15 were also detained on Wednesday over the foiled plot. Authorities painted a picture of the main suspect as having self-radicalized, transforming his appearance and sharing Islamist propaganda online. He quit his job on July 25, telling people he had “big plans”, Ruf said.

One neighbor told Austrian broadcaster Puls24 that he kept to himself and had grown a “Taleban beard”. Swift’s three concerts in Vienna, due to start on Thursday for a sold out 65,000 audience each, were cancelled, to the consternation of fans, many of whom had travelled far. “It’s just heartbreaking, just frustrating. But at the end of the day I guess it’s for everyone’s safety,” said Mark del Rosario, who had flown from the Philippines to see the wildly popular US singer.

US broadcaster ABC cited law enforcement and intelligence sources as saying Austrian authorities had received information about the Swift concert threat from US intelligence. It cited the sources as saying at least one of the suspects had pledged allegiance to ISIS-K, a resurgent wing of IS, on Telegram in June, though the plot was IS-inspired rather than directed by the group’s operatives. Austrian Interior Minister Gerhard Karner said foreign intelligence agencies had helped with the investigation, as Austrian law does not allow monitoring of messenger apps. — Reuters