The Iranian ambassador's residence is seen in Vienna, Austria March 12, 2018. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger

VIENNA (Reuters) - The man who stabbed a soldier outside the residence of the Iranian ambassador to Austria sympathized with radical Islamist ideology but it is too early to say what his motive was, the Interior Ministry said on Tuesday.

The 26-year-old attacker in Sunday’s stabbing was an Austrian of Egyptian origin. He was shot dead by the soldier who was stationed outside the residence in a Vienna suburb. The soldier was injured but not seriously.

The attacker’s home was searched and his online activity was being reviewed, Director General of Public Security Michaela Kardeis told a joint news conference with Interior Minister Herbert Kickl.

“All that can be established is that he clearly had sympathy for political Islam,” Kardeis said, later making clear that she was referring to forms of radical Islamism.

Vienna has so far been spared deadly Islamist militant attacks like the ones in Paris, Brussels and Berlin in recent years. Although only the assailant was killed in this attack, a connection with radical Islamism would be a concern for Austrian officials.

“I therefore deliberately used the term ‘sympathize’ with political Islam and did not say he was a jihadist, (or) he was radicalised, but this interest and a certain sympathy emerge from .... his interest in surfing (the Internet),” she added.

Islamist militancy has been ruled out as a motive in separate knife attacks carried out in another area of Vienna on Wednesday night. A citizen of Afghanistan was arrested in connection with those attacks, in which four people were seriously injured.</s>An Austrian soldier has shot dead a knife attacker outside the residence of the Iranian ambassador in Vienna, according to a police report on Monday.

Police said that a 26-year-old Austrian citizen was killed Sunday night after attacking the soldier, who was standing guard outside the building.</s>VIENNA - Heightened security measures have been ordered at embassies and other diplomatic buildings in Vienna after a soldier stationed outside the residence of the Iranian ambassador to Austria shot dead a man who tried to stab him, police said on Monday.



The 26-year-old assailant's motive for the attack, which took place around 11:30 p.m. (2230 GMT), was unclear and video footage would be reviewed, a police spokesman said.



"The attacker stabbed the soldier repeatedly. He was only saved by a stab-proof vest," the spokesman said, adding that the two men ended up grappling on the ground.



"The soldier defended himself well and was then able to reach for his service weapon and fire shots," he added.</s>VIENNA — Police say an Austrian attacker was shot and killed by the guard he wounded outside the Iranian ambassador's residence in Vienna.

Police spokesman Harald Soros said the guard was wounded in the arm before he shot the attacker dead shortly before midnight Sunday.

The spokesman said the attacker was a 26-year-old Austrian man. The motive for the attack was not clear.

Police ordered reinforcements around all diplomatic missions in the Austrian capital, which is also home to many international organizations.</s>VIENNA (AP) — Police say an Austrian attacker was shot and killed by the guard he wounded outside the Iranian ambassador's residence in Vienna.

Police spokesman Harald Soros said the guard was wounded in the arm before he shot the attacker dead shortly before midnight Sunday.

The spokesman said the attacker was a 26-year-old Austrian man. The motive for the attack was not clear.

Police ordered reinforcements around all diplomatic missions in the Austrian capital, which is also home to many international organizations.

Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.</s>An Austrian attacker was shot dead outside the Iranian ambassador's residence in Vienna by a guard he stabbed, police said.

The guard was wounded in the arm before he shot the 26-year-old attacker dead shortly before midnight on Sunday.

Police said the guard, a 23-year-old Austrian soldier, first tried to deter the assailant with pepper spray.

After the attacker - a Vienna resident - stabbed him, he fired several shots.

The assailant 'died on the spot' after the soldier opened fire, police spokesman Harald Soeros said.

'He initially used pepper spray' against the assailant, Soeros said, before opening fire.

He was believed to have fired his weapon at least four times.

The soldier sustained cuts to his right arm but was protected from more serious injuries by his stab-proof jacket.

Soros added that the soldier, who is from the Tyrol region of Austria, has been treated in hospital.

According to early indications he 'acted within the rules', a ministry of defence spokesman said, according to the APA agency.

The motive for the attack is not yet known, police said.

On Monday, Austrian police the assailant's motives are 'completely unclear' and the local branch of the domestic intelligence and anti-terror agency is looking into the case.

Police have ordered reinforcements around all diplomatic missions in the Austrian capital, which is also home to many international organisations.

The incident comes just days after two knife attacks in Vienna, including one that left a couple and their 17-year-old daughter with severe injuries.

A 23-year-old Afghan national confessed to those assaults but denied any political motive.</s>Police say an Austrian attacker was shot and killed by the guard he wounded outside the Iranian ambassador's residence in Vienna.

The 26-year-old assailant's motive for the attack, which took place around 11:30 p.m. (2230 GMT), was unclear and the local branch of the domestic intelligence and anti-terror agency is looking into the case, a police spokesman said.

"The attacker stabbed the soldier repeatedly. He was only saved by a stab-proof vest," the spokesman said, adding that the two men ended up grappling on the ground.

"The soldier defended himself well and was then able to reach for his service weapon and fire shots," he added.

Police ordered reinforcements around all diplomatic missions in the Austrian capital, which is also home to many international organizations.</s>An unknown assailant was shot dead as he attacked a guard outside the Iranian ambassador’s residence in Vienna, Austria, local police have confirmed.

“An unknown attacker armed with a knife has been shot dead by a guard from the Federal Armed Forces,” a police tweet said. The assault happened round midnight local time on Sunday. The guard was also injured in the incident and is now in hospital. The motive of the attack is not clear yet, law enforcement added.

The perpetrator is a 26-year-old Austrian citizen, local police said in statement.

The 23-year-old guard was stabbed several times, but only suffered minor injuries thanks to a stab-proof vest. He initially used pepper spray to tackle the attacker. Later the two engaged in a tussle on the ground, during which the officer reached for his service weapon and fired several shots.

Authorities ordered heightened security measures at diplomatic missions in Vienna, according to local media.

Last week, four people, including a teenage girl, were seriously injured in two separate attacks in the Austrian capital. The perpetrator in one of the incidents was described as “uninhibited and psychotic,” according to witnesses.</s>A knife attacker has been shot dead outside the Iranian ambassador's residence in Vienna, police say.

According to local police, the 26-year-old Austrian was killed on Sunday just before midnight after he attacked a security guard while trying to enter the ambassador's residence in Vienna's Hietzing district.

Austrian police spokesman Harald Moeser said that the assailant "died on the spot" after the guard shot him four times, after pepper spray failed to stop him.

The crime scene has been closed off by the police, who said the motive of the attacker is still unclear.

The Austrian police added that a security guard was injured in the attack and transported to hospital for treatment.

The attack came several hours after Iranian Ambassador to London Hamid Baeidinejad announced that he had been threatened with death by a member of an extremist religious group, which recently carried out an attack on the Islamic Republic's embassy in London.

A number of attackers scaled the wall of Iran's Embassy building in London on Friday and took down the Iranian flag.

According to the Islamic Republic News Agency, IRNA, British police did nothing to protect the compound during the attack.

Iran on Saturday summoned the British ambassador to Tehran over the attack on its diplomatic mission in London.</s>A man armed with a knife has been shot dead outside the Iranian Ambassador's home in Vienna.

The 26-year-old Austrian "died on the spot" at around midnight after a soldier, who was standing guard outside the building, opened fire.

The soldier tried to disarm the attacker with pepper spray before opening fire at least four times, police spokesman Harald Soeros said.

The motive for the attack is not yet known.

According to early indications, the soldier "acted within the rules", a spokesman from the ministry of defence was quoted as saying.

The official added that the soldier, who is from the Tyrol region, was treated in hospital for a wound to his arm.

Police have ordered reinforcements around all diplomatic missions in the city.

The incident comes just days after two knife attacks in Vienna, including one that left a couple and their 17-year-old daughter with severe injuries.

A 23-year-old Afghan national confessed to those assaults but denied any political motive.
An Austrian soldier was stabbed and injured in front of the Iranian embassy in Vienna. The attacker, which had Islamist sympathies according to the authorities, was shot dead.