After Quran burning: Five persons arrested on terrorism suspicion

Five people have been arrested in Sweden on suspicion of preparing terrorist acts.

This is stated by the Swedish security service SÄPO on its website.

The arrests took place after intensive intelligence and investigative work. This happened on Tuesday morning in a coordinated operation in Eskilstuna, Linköping and Strängnäs with the support of the police’s national task force. At the same time, a number of searches were carried out.

The suspicion against the five relates to plans for terrorist crimes in Sweden, but the security services do not assess that an attack was imminent.

-The security services often have to intervene early to avert a threat. We cannot wait for a crime to be completed before we act. The current case is one of several that the Swedish security service has been working on after the protests directed against Sweden in connection with the high-profile Quran burning in January, where international calls for attacks are taking place, said Susanna Trehörning, deputy head of counterterrorism at the Swedish security service.