Terrorism in Sweden

Until the late 2000s terrorism in Sweden was not seen as serious threat to the security of the state.[1]

The Swedish government agency tasked with keeping watch over terrorism-related threats is the Swedish Security Service.

The terrorism-related event in modern Swedish history which received the most attention was the West German embassy siege in 1975, which was carried out by the Red Army Faction. In 1976, the same group also planned Operation Leo which was to involve the kidnapping of Anna-Greta Leijon, but which was never set in action.

In 1986 Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme was killed in an action of dubious motivations. Several different terrorist leads were considered, but none has been proved conclusive, and the police main lead was a lone madman.

Over the last decades the issue of certain terrorist groups, such as Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), using Sweden as a free haven has received attention. In the 2000s, the issue of terrorism financing and recruiting for terrorist groups, including Islamic groups, have also been on the security agenda. Criminal acts from domestic political extremist groups, both on the right and on the left, have also become an increasing phenomenon.[1]

List of terrorist incidents and plots in Sweden

Date Type Dead Injured Details Perpetrator
3 March, 1940 Arson 5 unknown An arson attack against the office of the Communist newspaper Norrskensflamman in Luleå by right-wing extremists[2]. Right-wing extremists
24 April, 1975 Bombing 4 14 Red Army Faction carried out the West German embassy siege with the goal of forcing the release of other RAF members from prison in West Germany. Red Army Faction
11 December, 2010 Bombing 1 2 The 2010 Stockholm bombings occurred on 11 December 2010 when two bombs exploded in central Stockholm, Sweden, killing the bomber and injuring two people.[3][4][5][6][7] Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs Carl Bildt and the Swedish Security Service (SÄPO) described the bombings as acts of terrorism.[5][8] Taimour Abdulwahab al-Abdaly, an Iraqi-born Swedish citizen, is suspected of carrying out the bombing.[9][10] The Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation described the event as the first suicide attack linked to Islamic terrorism in the Nordic countries.[11][12] Islamist
2011 Assassination plot 0 0 The 2011 Gothenburg terrorism plot was alleged to target art festival and Swedish artist Lars Vilks and thwarted by police. Four people were arrested, three charged, and all three suspects were acquitted. Islamist
February 2016 Bombing plot 0 0 In the 2016 Sweden terrorism plot Aydin Sevigin was convicted to carry out an ISIS-inspired suicide bombing on Swedish soil using a homemade pressure-cooker bomb. ISIS/Aydin Sevigin
7 April, 2017 Truck attack 5 15 In the 2017 Stockholm attack a truck was rammed into a crowd in Stockholm, Sweden, resulting in five deaths. A 39-year-old rejected asylum seeker from Uzbekistan was arrested, suspected on probable cause of terrorist crimes through murder. Rakhmat Akilov suspected

The neo-nazi activist group Swedish Resistance Movement (SRM) was formed in 1997 and merged into the Nordic Resistance Movement (NRM) in 2016. The group has been behind several violent actions since a bomb and the murder of the journalist Björn Söderberg in 1999. In 2017, NRM members were arrested for involvement in two bombings and a bombing attempt in Gothenborg, near two refugee accommodations and a syndicalist organization.[13]

The perpetrator of the 2009–10 Malmö shootings, Peter Mangs, targeted minorities. Serial killer John Ausonius (aka. Wolfgang Zaugg) also targeted minorities.

The 2015 Trollhättan school attack was carried out by 21-year-old Anton Lundin Pettersson, who killed two teachers and one student. The police described it as a hate crime with racist motives.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 SÄPO: Våldsam politisk extremism ("Violent political extremism"), July 2009 report (in Swedish)
  2. ↑ Attentatet mot Norrskensflamman Norrländska Socialdemokraten, 12 September 2009. Retrieved 15 April 2017.
  3. ↑ Hanson, Matilda E.; Håkansson, Catarina (11 December 2010). "Man sprängde sig själv i Stockholm". Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 11 December 2010.
  4. ↑ Svahn, Clas (11 December 2010). "Man död efter explosioner i centrala Stockholm". Dagens Nyheter (in Swedish). Retrieved 12 December 2010.
  5. 1 2 Nyberg, Per (12 December 2010). "Explosions in Stockholm believed to be failed terrorist attack". CNN. Retrieved 12 December 2010.
  6. ↑ "Stockholm blasts kill one and injure two". BBC. 11 December 2010. Retrieved 12 December 2010.
  7. ↑ Anderson, Christina; Bursh, John F. (11 December 2010). "Stockholm Hit by Blasts After E-Mail Warning". The New York Times. Retrieved 12 December 2010.
  8. ↑ Landes, David (12 December 2010). "Stockholm suicide blast a terror attack: police". The Local. Retrieved 12 December 2010.
  9. ↑ Gardham, Duncan; Oscarsson, Marcus; Hutchison, Peter (12 December 2010). "Sweden suicide bomber: Taimur Abdulwahab al-Abdaly was living in Britain". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 12 December 2010.
  10. ↑ Paige, Jonathan (12 December 2010). "Stockholm suicide bomber: Taimour Abdulwahab al-Abdaly profile". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 13 December 2010.
  11. ↑ "- Regjeringen reagerer med avsky". Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (in Norwegian). 12 December 2010. Retrieved 12 December 2010.
  12. ↑ Sears, Neil; Bentley, Paul (13 December 2010). "Suicide bomber lived in Britain: Islamic fanatic in Stockholm car blast was radicalised while studying in Luton". Mail Online. London. Retrieved 13 December 2010.
  13. ↑ Three nazis were sentenced for the bombings in Gothenburg, Expressen 2017-02-03 (In Swedish)
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