CIA employee: Terrorist attack on Taylor Swift concert should have killed “tens of thousands of people”

The CIA's deputy director confirmed that the planned terrorist attack at Taylor Swift's concerts in Vienna earlier this month was aimed at killing “a large number” of people – including Americans.

As seen in a video on CSPAN, David S. Cohen revealed at the Intelligence and National Security Summit that the information Austrian authorities used to prevent the terrorist attack was passed on to the CIA.

“They were planning to kill a huge number of people at this concert, tens of thousands, certainly many Americans,” Cohen said. “The Austrians were able to make these arrests because the agency and our intelligence partners provided them with information about what this ISIS-affiliated group was planning to do.”

Swift's representative did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.

At the beginning of August, Swift canceled three of her Austrian concerts at Vienna's Ernst Happel Stadium after learning of a planned bomb attack.

TERRORIST ATTACK ON TAYLOR SWIFT: NEIGHBORS IN THE HOMETOWN OF THE MAIN SUSPECTS DESCRIBE BEHAVIORAL CHANGES

On August 7 Authorities arrested a 17-year-old and a 19-year-old man for allegedly planning terrorist attacks on Swift's Vienna shows, which are scheduled to take place at the Ernst Happel Stadium from August 8 to 10. An 18-year-old man was arrested on August 8.

“They planned to kill a huge number of people at this concert, tens of thousands, certainly many Americans.”

— – David S. Cohen

A 15-year-old man was questioned by police but was not named as a suspect.

Swift described the cancellations as “devastating” in a social media post a few days after the scheduled date of her shows in Vienna.

Taylor Swift canceled all three shows in Vienna after learning about the planned terrorist attack. (Kate Green/Getty Images)

“Walking on stage in London was a rollercoaster of emotions,” Swift wrote in a social media post. “The cancellation of our Vienna concerts was devastating. The reasons for the cancellations filled me with new feelings of fear and enormous guilt because so many people had planned to come to these concerts. But I was also so grateful to the authorities because thanks to them we mourned concerts and not live performances.”

She continued: “I was heartened by the love and unity I saw from fans united. I decided that all my energy had to be devoted to protecting the nearly half a million people who came to my shows in London. My team and I worked hand in hand every day with stadium staff and the UK authorities to achieve this goal and I want to thank them for everything they did for us. Let me be very clear: I will not speak publicly about something if I believe that doing so could provoke those who wish to harm the fans who come to my shows.”

Taylor Swift said the cancellation of her shows in Vienna left her with a “new sense of fear.” (Thomas Niedermüller/TAS24/Getty Images)

LIKE WHAT YOU READING? CLICK HERE FOR MORE ENTERTAINMENT NEWS

Swift had not commented on the cancellations, but according to her post, she felt it was necessary to protect herself and her fans.

“In cases like this, 'silence' actually shows restraint and means waiting until the time is right to speak out. My priority was to safely complete our European tour and I am very relieved to say that we have achieved that,” wrote the “Cruel Summer” singer.

Concert organizers in Austria said they expected up to 65,000 fans in the stadium at each concert and up to 30,000 spectators outside, where authorities said the suspects planned to strike.

Three men are suspected of having been involved in the planned terrorist attack at Swift's shows in Vienna. (TAS2024/Getty Images)

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTER

At least one of the suspects confessed that he wanted to “kill as many people as possible outside the concert area.”

Bomb-making materials were also found in at least one of the teenagers' homes. According to NBC, the 19-year-old man had bomb-making instructions as well as homemade explosives, detonators and hydrogen peroxide with him.

Authorities found ISIS and Al-Qaeda materials in the 17-year-old's house.

The deputy CIA director announced that he believed “many Americans” were killed at Taylor Swift’s concerts in Vienna. (Thomas Niedermueller/TAS24/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management)

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Due to Austrian data protection law, the names of the suspects were not made public.

Elizabeth Stanton of Fox News Digital contributed to this report.