Stockholm, Sweden —
Sweden raised its terrorism alert Thursday, one level to the second highest, following the Scandinavian country’s recent series of Quran burnings, by a handful of anti-Islam activists, which sparked angry demonstrations in the country. -Islam country.
Sweden has in recent weeks asked nationals abroad and businesses linked to the country to “be careful and understand the information provided by the authorities,” following a series of burning of copies of the Koran by an Iraqi asylum seeker.
The Scandinavian state’s internal security agency SAPO said the overall security situation was deteriorating, and the risk of terrorism in Sweden was now at level 4, or “high” on a five-point scale, its first since 2016.
“We are in a deteriorating situation, and this threat will continue for a long time to come,” said SAPO head Charlotte von Essen. He added that “threats of attack from violent Islamists have increased this year.”
He said Sweden was now considered a “main target” for such an attack.
Earlier this year, a far-right activist from Denmark burned a Koran outside the Turkish Embassy in Stockholm. About 250 people responded by gathering outside the Swedish Consulate in Istanbul, where a photo of Danish-Swedish anti-Islam activist Rasmus Paludan was burned. (ps/lt)
