Born: 2000;
Place of Birth: Austria;
Gender: Male;
Nationality: Austrian, North Macedonian;
General Info:
Kujtim Fejzulai was Islamic State terrorist who launched terrorist attack on drinkers near a synagogue in the Austrian capital of Vienna.
He had Albanian roots and his parents were originally from North Macedonia. He also dual citizenship of Austria and North Macedonia.
Fejzulai was previously jailed for trying to travel to Syria to join the Islamic State terrorist group.
He was arrested after making it to an Islamic State safe house on the Turkish border before being extradited back to Austria.
Fejzulai was reportedly being monitored by the Austrian security services, but was not considering capable of mounting a domestic terror attack.
Austrian government confirmed that the Vienna attacker had previously been sentenced to 22 months in prison in April 2019. The Austrian Interior minister said the terrorist had been released early due to his young age.
The terrorist is reported to have posted on Instagram announcing his intentions before the terror attack.
On the account, he pledged allegiance to Islamic State leader “The Professor” Abdullah Qardash, who was appointed after the US army killed Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
Also, Fejzulai published a picture allegedly showing the suspect brandishing a pistol, an assault rifle and a machete while wearing a black t-shirt and beanie.
Fejzulai reportedly sent a possible accomplice a video of the 2015 terrorist attack on the offices of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo.
He is also alleged to have posted pictures of bullets and declared the Islamic State “remains and is expanding” – a popular phrase among supporters of the group since its collapse as a state in the Middle East.
Fejzulai is reported to have admitted he had “got into the wrong mosque” when he appeared before a judge in 2019.
He had reportedly saved up cash through a summer job in 2018 to buy a ticket to Kabul, Afghanistan, to meet up with Islamic State terrorists.