Sweden has become a “priority target”, according to the Swedish Security Service (Säpo), which raised the country’s terrorist alert level to 4 on a scale of 5. The desecrations of copies of the Koran which occurred at the end of July in Stockholm provoked violent reactions abroad. This is the first time since 2016 that the Swedes have raised their alert level in this way. At that time, the country had decided to raise the level of vigilance following threats from the Islamic State against Europe.
“I have decided today to raise the terrorist threat level from high to critical,” Sweden’s intelligence chief Charlotte von Essen said at a press conference, saying that the threat of attacks “will persist for a long time” in the country.
These actions caused great tension in the Muslim world, and the Swedish embassy in Baghdad was burnt down before being temporarily repatriated to Stockholm.
The hostility expressed towards Sweden had then led the country to intensify its border controls, without however raising the risk of a terrorist attack.
Last week, a Molotov cocktail was thrown at the Swedish embassy in Beirut, without the projectile exploding. And over the weekend, the terrorist group Al-Qaeda called for terrorist attacks in the Scandinavian country.
The United States had also advised travelers on July 26 to exercise “increased caution” in Sweden because of the risk of “terrorism”.
The Swedish authorities are considering ways to limit the organization of demonstrations involving the burning of copies of the Koran while respecting freedom of expression. But the parliamentary majority now seems hostile to such a change.
