By Josiane Kremer and Kim McLaughlin -
Dec 13, 2010 6:23 AM GMT+0530
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Sweden had its first brush with what police are treating as a possible terrorist attack when a suspected bomber injured two people and killed himself in central Stockholm on Dec. 11.
The Nordic country’s Security Service is investigating two blasts that occurred a few hundred meters apart and close to a street crowded with Christmas shoppers at about 5 p.m. local time. The first blast set a car on fire, the second killed the suspect and injured two people, Stockholm police said in a statement on its website yesterday.
“There has been a perception that it probably doesn’t happen here and it wouldn’t target us,” saidMagnus Ranstorp, research director at the Center for Asymmetric Threat Studies at the Swedish National Defence College in Stockholm, by telephone yesterday. “Now we have crossed the threshold, we have crossed a new line.”
Unlike neighboring Denmark, which became a target of Islamist anger in 2006 after its biggest newspaper published caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad, Swedish police until October had deemed the threat of any terrorist attack to be “low.” The September general election brought the anti- immigration Sweden Democrats into parliament for the first time.
The country also has about 500 troops in Afghanistan serving as part of the International Security Assistance Force. Swedish artist Lars Vilks drew anger from some Muslims after newspaper Nerikes Allehanda published one of his drawings that put Mohammed’s head on a dog’s body in 2007.
‘Time to Strike’
Shortly before the explosions, police and a Swedish news agency received an e-mail with recordings in Swedish and Arabic from a man who said it was “time to strike” because a “war was being waged against Islam.” In the recording, the suspect expresses anger against Vilks and the Afghan deployment, Expressen said. He apologizes to his family for lying about his trips to the Middle East, saying he went “for Jihad.”
The U.K.’s Guardian newspaper identified the suspect as Taimour Abdulwahab al-Abdaly, an Iraqi-born Swede who obtained a Bachelors of Science in sports therapy from the University of Bedfordshire in 2004. The newspaper also said he had spent some time in Luton in recent years. The Guardian said the suspect’s details had been confirmed by people close to the U.K. government it didn’t identify.
A spokeswoman for the U.K. Home Office declined to comment on the matter last night, saying, “We remain in close contact with the Swedish authorities,” and adding, “it would be inappropriate to comment on their ongoing investigation at this time.”
The Swedish Transport Agency identified the car as belonging to Taimour Abdulwahab, a 28-year-old man living in Tranaas in the south of Sweden.
‘Calm Bay’
“Sweden was a calm bay in a stormy sea, now the problem is close to home,” Ranstorp said, speaking from Copenhagen. “This kind of event changes the security perception. There has been a shift in the past six months with group wanting to target Swedish interests. You might have copycats.”
Foreign Minister Carl Bildt wrote on Twitter that the attack “could have been truly catastrophic” if it hadn’t failed.
The attempted terror attack probably won’t disrupt financial markets, said Robert Bergqvist, SEB AB chief economist.
“We’re still in the middle and we don’t have all the pieces, but it’s unlikely this will leave any big footprint on the financial markets tomorrow,” he said. “This may be unique for Sweden, but as we know sadly it isn’t unusual around the world.”
Suspect Not Named
Police haven’t released the name of the suspect. The SVT national broadcaster identified the author of the messages as the owner of the burned car, an Audi 80 from 1993.
“We’re trying to find out if he was working alone or not,” Tomas Lindstrand, Chief Prosecutor on security issues at the International Prosecution Chamber said at a news conference. “In his message to the police, he speaks as if to suggest there are others. It’s the first time we’ve seen this type of attack in Sweden.”
The Islamic Association in Sweden condemned the attacks in a statement on its website, saying they “threatened Swede’s mutual peace and security.”
Ranstorp said it is “very rare” that an isolated incident would happen without other people being involved in the preparation. “I would be surprised if he didn’t have broader connections,” he said. “You have a car bomb, a suicide bomber, a statement sent to the media. There was a point of no return.”
Connected Incidents
Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt said it’s important not to victimize groups in society based on presumption.
“We don’t know yet that the three incidents are connected, even if much evidence points to this,” he said at a news conference in Stockholm, where he urged citizens not to panic.
Reinfeldt’s coalition has maintained its lead over the opposition since it won elections on Sept. 19, while support for the anti-immigration Sweden Democrats has risen, an opinion poll by Statistics Sweden showed on Dec. 8.
Sweden’s security service raised its terror alert level from “low” to “elevated” in October saying Swedish-based groups could be plotting attacks. It then emphasized that the threat to Sweden was not seen as “imminent” and did not raise the level this weekend after the blasts.
To contact the reporter responsible for this story: Kim McLaughlin atkmclaughlin6@bloomberg.net
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Sweden had its first brush with what police are treating as a possible terrorist attack when a suspected bomber injured two people and killed himself in central Stockholm on Dec. 11.
The Nordic country’s Security Service is investigating two blasts that occurred a few hundred meters apart and close to a street crowded with Christmas shoppers at about 5 p.m. local time. The first blast set a car on fire, the second killed the suspect and injured two people, Stockholm police said in a statement on its website yesterday.
“There has been a perception that it probably doesn’t happen here and it wouldn’t target us,” saidMagnus Ranstorp, research director at the Center for Asymmetric Threat Studies at the Swedish National Defence College in Stockholm, by telephone yesterday. “Now we have crossed the threshold, we have crossed a new line.”
Unlike neighboring Denmark, which became a target of Islamist anger in 2006 after its biggest newspaper published caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad, Swedish police until October had deemed the threat of any terrorist attack to be “low.” The September general election brought the anti- immigration Sweden Democrats into parliament for the first time.
The country also has about 500 troops in Afghanistan serving as part of the International Security Assistance Force. Swedish artist Lars Vilks drew anger from some Muslims after newspaper Nerikes Allehanda published one of his drawings that put Mohammed’s head on a dog’s body in 2007.
‘Time to Strike’
Shortly before the explosions, police and a Swedish news agency received an e-mail with recordings in Swedish and Arabic from a man who said it was “time to strike” because a “war was being waged against Islam.” In the recording, the suspect expresses anger against Vilks and the Afghan deployment, Expressen said. He apologizes to his family for lying about his trips to the Middle East, saying he went “for Jihad.”
The U.K.’s Guardian newspaper identified the suspect as Taimour Abdulwahab al-Abdaly, an Iraqi-born Swede who obtained a Bachelors of Science in sports therapy from the University of Bedfordshire in 2004. The newspaper also said he had spent some time in Luton in recent years. The Guardian said the suspect’s details had been confirmed by people close to the U.K. government it didn’t identify.
A spokeswoman for the U.K. Home Office declined to comment on the matter last night, saying, “We remain in close contact with the Swedish authorities,” and adding, “it would be inappropriate to comment on their ongoing investigation at this time.”
The Swedish Transport Agency identified the car as belonging to Taimour Abdulwahab, a 28-year-old man living in Tranaas in the south of Sweden.
‘Calm Bay’
“Sweden was a calm bay in a stormy sea, now the problem is close to home,” Ranstorp said, speaking from Copenhagen. “This kind of event changes the security perception. There has been a shift in the past six months with group wanting to target Swedish interests. You might have copycats.”
Foreign Minister Carl Bildt wrote on Twitter that the attack “could have been truly catastrophic” if it hadn’t failed.
The attempted terror attack probably won’t disrupt financial markets, said Robert Bergqvist, SEB AB chief economist.
“We’re still in the middle and we don’t have all the pieces, but it’s unlikely this will leave any big footprint on the financial markets tomorrow,” he said. “This may be unique for Sweden, but as we know sadly it isn’t unusual around the world.”
Suspect Not Named
Police haven’t released the name of the suspect. The SVT national broadcaster identified the author of the messages as the owner of the burned car, an Audi 80 from 1993.
“We’re trying to find out if he was working alone or not,” Tomas Lindstrand, Chief Prosecutor on security issues at the International Prosecution Chamber said at a news conference. “In his message to the police, he speaks as if to suggest there are others. It’s the first time we’ve seen this type of attack in Sweden.”
The Islamic Association in Sweden condemned the attacks in a statement on its website, saying they “threatened Swede’s mutual peace and security.”
Ranstorp said it is “very rare” that an isolated incident would happen without other people being involved in the preparation. “I would be surprised if he didn’t have broader connections,” he said. “You have a car bomb, a suicide bomber, a statement sent to the media. There was a point of no return.”
Connected Incidents
Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt said it’s important not to victimize groups in society based on presumption.
“We don’t know yet that the three incidents are connected, even if much evidence points to this,” he said at a news conference in Stockholm, where he urged citizens not to panic.
Reinfeldt’s coalition has maintained its lead over the opposition since it won elections on Sept. 19, while support for the anti-immigration Sweden Democrats has risen, an opinion poll by Statistics Sweden showed on Dec. 8.
Sweden’s security service raised its terror alert level from “low” to “elevated” in October saying Swedish-based groups could be plotting attacks. It then emphasized that the threat to Sweden was not seen as “imminent” and did not raise the level this weekend after the blasts.
To contact the reporter responsible for this story: Kim McLaughlin atkmclaughlin6@bloomberg.net
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