The Swedish police’s security service announced on Tuesday that it has arrested five men suspected of conspiring to commit terrorist acts, following "international calls for attacks" that arose in the wake of a protest against the burning of the Quran in Stockholm. The security service apprehended the five men during coordinated raids across three cities, and it noted that the suspects are believed to have international connections with violent Islamist extremists. Their identities have not been disclosed.
The statement said, "The current case is one of several cases that the police have been working on following the protests directed at Sweden regarding the Quran burning in January by a far-right activist in Stockholm, which received extensive media coverage." Additionally, Susanna Trehörning, Deputy Head of the Counter-Terrorism Unit at the security service, indicated that the international calls for attacks followed the protest.
In a separate statement, the Swedish prosecution authority mentioned that the prosecutor has until Friday to decide on the custody status of the five men.
