By Smartencyclopedia with Agencies

The CIA has revealed that a planned attack on a Taylor Swift concert in Vienna was thwarted, potentially saving hundreds of lives. According to CIA Deputy Director David Cohen, the suspects aimed to kill “a huge number” of people during the event, which was part of Swift’s Eras tour.

Speaking at an intelligence summit near Washington, DC, Cohen stated that the intelligence provided by the CIA to Austrian authorities was crucial in disrupting the plot. “There were tens of thousands of people at this concert, I am sure many Americans,” Cohen said, emphasizing the scale of the threat. He noted that the suspects’ plans were “advanced” and that the arrests made by Austrian authorities were a significant victory for the agency.

Three male teenagers have been arrested in connection with the foiled attack. The suspects were reportedly inspired by the Islamic State (ISIS), and the main suspect, a 19-year-old Austrian citizen, had pledged allegiance to the group. Authorities believe he was motivated by a desire to “kill as many people as possible.”

On 7 August, the day before Swift’s first scheduled concert in Vienna, Austrian authorities, acting on intelligence provided by the CIA, arrested two of the suspects. The third suspect was apprehended two days later. In light of the credible threat, concert organizers canceled all three of Swift’s Vienna performances, which had been expected to draw approximately 200,000 attendees.

This was the first time Swift publicly commented on the incident. She took to Instagram to express her devastation over the cancellations, 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.”

Swift’s European tour has been record-breaking, with eight sold-out shows at Wembley Stadium in London, surpassing the record previously held by Michael Jackson.

Swift’s next scheduled performance on her Eras tour is set for 18 October in Miami, Florida, where heightened security measures are expected in light of the recent threats.