Far-right hooligans attack Turkish center in Austria

VIENNA - Agence France-Presse

This file photo shows a group of hooligans clashing with the riot police prior to the UEFA Champions League football match FC Basel against FC Schalke 04 on October 1, 2013 at the Saint Jakob-Park Stadium in Basel. AFP PHOTO

Around 30 far-right Austrian football hooligans from a banned extremist supporters' club attacked a Turkish cultural center in Vienna at the weekend, police said Monday.

Nine people were arrested, seven of whom were known to the police, after the attack Sunday. A member of a communist organisation was assaulted outside, while one of the attackers was also hurt.

According to Green MP Alev Korun, witnesses saw the attackers doing Hitler salutes and shouting slogans such as "Foreigners Out" and "Heil Hitler" in a nearby park before the incident.

The group tried to force their way into the cultural center but were beaten back by people inside, police said. They then returned with pieces of wood and bottles before fleeing.

All were members of "Unsterblich" (Immortal), a group of supporters of top-flight football team Austria Vienna that was banned by the team in January for racist chants and Hitler salutes.