'Terror threats' against Austrian police stations

Vienna : Austrian authorities said they carried out searches at several police stations and other locations on Thursday after receiving emailed "terror threats" but found nothing.

The interior ministry said that the anonymous email, in bad English, was sent to several policestations on Thursday morning and mentioned Islamic extremism.

Security measures were increased and searches conducted at the police stations and at Vienna's airport and main train station but "nothing untoward" was found, the ministry said later.

The email came from an encrypted email address that has been used "several times in the past" for previous threats but this time mentioned specific places and times on Thursday morning.

Interior Ministry spokesman Karl-Heinz Grundboeck said that the additional security measures were "gradually" being wound down. Investigations into who sent the email were continuing.

Europe, including Austria, is on high alert after a number of attacks in recent weeks in France and Germany claimed by the extremist Islamic State (IS) group.

Austria has so far not seen any such attacks. The Der Standard Daily reported on Thursday however that 59 "terror-related" arrests have been made in the country since the start of 2015.