Persons held over Vienna attack part of Islamist scene, Austria says

FILE PHOTO: Police block a street in the city center following shots fired nearby in Vienna, Austria. /Getty Images

The 15 persons that were arrested in connection with a deadly rampage in Vienna, Austria, on Monday are part of the radical Islamist scene, Reuters reports citing Interior Ministry officials.

The report says that just under half of the suspects have criminal records, some for terrorism offences.

The 15 persons were arrested on Tuesday in a massive manhunt for possible accomplices after a gunman opened fire in downtown Vienna, killing four people and injuring 22 others.

The 20-year-old native of the city, who had previously been jailed for trying to join the Islamic State in Syria, was shot dead by police within nine minutes of opening fire on bystanders and bars on Monday.

"We are dealing with a violent perpetrator who was evidently intensely involved in the network of political Islam, of sympathisers, who took on their ideology," Reuters quotes Interior Minister Karl Nehammer.

The Vienna attack followed recent deadly assaults by lone Islamist attackers in Nice and Paris.

ISIL claimed responsibility on Tuesday for the attack, the group's Amaq News Agency said in a statement on Telegram, without providing evidence.