MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 03rd November, 2020) The European Commission on Tuesday held a minute of silence to commemorate victims of the recent terrorist attacks in the Austrian capital of Vienna, and several French cities, EC Chief spokesman Eric Mamer said on Tuesday during a briefing in Brussels.
"The European family stands firmly by Austria. We will relentlessly fight terrorism, together. On behalf of the European Commission, we will now observe a minute of silence for the victims of the recent terrorist attacks in Austria and France," Mamer said.
On Monday evening, a series of shootings, designated by the Austrian authorities as terrorist acts, were carried out in six different parts of Vienna, including a synagogue in the city center. Several unidentified gunmen opened fire in the locations, killing at least five people and wounding up to 18. One of the attackers was subsequently neutralized, another suspected perpetrator has reportedly been detained by police in the city of Linz. According to the authorities, the killed gunman was a supporter of the Islamic State terrorist group (banned in Russia).
France has also been under widespread dismay following the brutal decapitation of a French teacher on the outskirts of Paris by a radicalized teen on October 16 and a stabbing in a catholic church in Nice on October 29, in which an Islamist murdered three people. The French authorities described the tragedies as terrorist attacks, said that the country was under the growing Islamic threat and boosted efforts to combat extremism.
