Vienna: Austrian authorities arrested 13 suspected jihadis in police operations as part of a large-scale crackdown on suspected militants Friday.
The operation began in the early hours of Friday morning, with 16 persons targeted for arrest on the basis of suspicion of their involvement with terrorist organisations and recruitment of young people for the Syrian civil war.
Around 900 police officers from almost all Austrian states were involved in the operations in the cities of Vienna, Graz, and Linz, with Minister of the Interior Johanna Mikl-Leitner referring to it as one of the "largest operations in the history of Austrian state security."
The operation was initiated after intelligence report indicated that numerous persons were involved in radicalisation of young Muslims.
During the house searches, terrorist propaganda materials were seized, along with other items including data storage devices, cash and brass knuckles.
