Austrian police detain 13 in investigation on 'suspected jihadis'

Austrian police detained 13 people in a dragnet on Friday aimed at suspected jihadis working to radicalise young people and encourage them to join militant forces in Syria, prosecutors in Graz said.

Media reports nearly 500 police searched mosques and prayer rooms in Vienna, Graz and Linz on Friday as part of the investigation, which comes amid a European crackdown on fighters who have joined up with radical forces in Syria and Iraq.

Prosecutors said in a statement that they had questioned 16 people in the investigation of suspected members of a terrorist organisation. Authorities seized "terrorist propaganda material", cash and illegal iron knuckles in the raids. Authorities have said they are investigating more than 150 people from Austria believed to have joined up with radical militants in the Middle East.