After rumors on social media led the Interior Ministry to inform the parents of two teenage Austrian girls that they might have been killed in Syria, one of the girls apparently posted a message indicating they are both alive. The two sisters traveled to Syria in April, and are said to have married Chechen fighters. An estimated 142 Austrian jihadists, including 12 females, are said to have traveled to Syria to fight. Government officials are planning measures to address the rising terrorist threat, including banning the Islamic State and its symbols, stripping returning jihadists of citizenship, and developing antiradicalization programs.
