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Sunday, December 12, 2010

Sweden probes Terrorist Attack

Two explosions in Sweden's capital Stockholm are being investigated as a "crime of terror", officials say.


A car blew up in a busy shopping area on Saturday afternoon, followed moments later by a second explosion nearby.

Witnesses said a man found dead after the second blast had been carrying an explosive device. Two people were hurt.

Swedish PM Fredrik Reinfeldt condemned the attacks as unacceptable in an open society with a functioning democracy that respects different cultures.

"Our democracy functions well," he told a press conference. "Those who feel frustration or anger have the opportunity to express it without resorting to violence."
Swedish security police have not yet released the dead man's name, although director of operations Anders Thornberg says they now have a clearer idea about him.
"As far as we know it looks like he has been working for himself but we don't know, we have to make that really sure," he said.

"So we are investigating whether there could be more perpetrators. We don't know."

Police are investigating a set of e-mails sent shortly before the blasts threatening attacks because Sweden had sent troops to Afghanistan.

Sweden has some 500 soldiers deployed in Afghanistan as part of the international military force.

Police are trying to work out whether the explosions were an isolated attack or part of a larger conspiracy, says the BBC's Stephen Evans in Stockholm.

The e-mails, with MP3 audio files in Swedish and Arabic, were sent to the Swedish security service and the TT news agency.

They called for "mujahideen" - or Islamist fighters - to rise up in Sweden and Europe, promising Swedes would "die like our brothers and sisters".

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