2010 Stockholm bombings

2010 Stockholm bombings

Police closed off Drottninggatan at its intersection with Bryggargatan (a small street outside the picture to the left) after the second explosion.
Location Drottninggatan, Stockholm, Sweden
Coordinates 59°20′8.5″N 18°3′35.2″E / 59.335694°N 18.059778°E / 59.335694; 18.059778Coordinates: 59°20′8.5″N 18°3′35.2″E / 59.335694°N 18.059778°E / 59.335694; 18.059778 (car bomb)
59°20′0.9″N 18°3′41.1″E / 59.333583°N 18.061417°E / 59.333583; 18.061417 (suicide bomb)
Date 11 December 2010
16:48 (UTC+1)
Target Unknown
Attack type
 Suicide attack
Weapons Pipe bomb
Deaths 1 (the attacker)
Non-fatal injuries
 2
Suspected perpetrator
 Taimour Abdulwahab al-Abdaly[1][2]

In the 11 December 2010 Stockholm bombings, two bombs exploded in central Stockholm, killing the bomber.[3][4][5] Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs Carl Bildt and the Swedish Security Service (SÄPO) described the bombings as acts of terrorism.[3][6]

Taimour Abdulwahab al-Abdaly, an Iraqi-born Swedish citizen, is suspected of carrying out the bombing.[2][7] The Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation described the event as the first suicide attack in the Nordic countries linked to Islamic terrorism.[8] On 8 March 2011, Strathclyde Police in Scotland arrested 30-year-old Nasserdine Menni in the Whiteinch area of Glasgow in connection with the Stockholm bombing. Menni was arrested under the Terrorism Act 2000 for "aiding terrorist activity" outside Scotland and was held at the Helen Street police station, the most secure police station in the country.

Bombings

The first explosion occurred at 16:48 CET, when an Audi 80 Avant automobile exploded at the intersection of Olof Palmes gata and Drottninggatan.[9] According to firefighters the car contained bottles of liquefied petroleum gas, which resulted in several more explosions.[9] Two people at the site of the explosion were hospitalized with minor injuries.[3]

The second explosion occurred at about 17:00 CET at the intersection of Bryggargatan and Drottninggatan.[9] A man’s body, with blast wounds on his abdomen, was discovered nearby.[9] According to a police spokesman, the man blew himself up.[9] According to Aftonbladet, he carried six pipe bombs; only one exploded, killing him.[10] Near the man, a metal pipe and a rucksack filled with metal fasteners and an unknown substance (suspected to be an explosive) were found.[11] According to witnesses, the bomber was "shouting something in Arabic" before detonating the bomb.[12] Closed-circuit television footage of the second explosion was released the following day by Aftonbladet.[13]

At the time of the explosions, central Stockholm was filled with Christmas shoppers and thousands of people were in the vicinity.[9] Foreign Minister Bildt expressed his concern that if the attack had been successful, the result could have been "truly catastrophic."[3] The bombings followed a November increase in the terror-alert level in Sweden (from low to elevated) because of a "shift in activities among Swedish-based groups".[4]

Email threat

About ten minutes before the explosions, a threatening email was sent to the Swedish Security Service and the Swedish news agency Tidningarnas Telegrambyrå (TT).[9] It referred to the presence of Swedish troops in Afghanistan and Swedish artist Lars Vilks' drawings of Muhammad as a roundabout dog:[3] "Now your children, daughters and sisters will die in the same way our brothers and sisters die. Our actions will speak for themselves. As long as you don't end your war against Islam and degradation against the prophet and your foolish support for the pig [Lars] Vilks." The email ended with a call to "all Mujahedin in Europe and Sweden. Now is the time to strike, wait no longer. Go forward with whatever you have, even if it is a knife, and I know you have more than a knife. Fear no one, don't fear prison, don't fear death." Sound files in Swedish and Arabic were also included.[9]

Investigation

Street map showing the distance between the bombings (about three city blocks), with a larger map of Stockholm inset
Map of the area of the explosions

A PMR radio with attached wires was found near the body,[14] suggesting that the bomb was intended to be triggered remotely.[15] The state prosecutor said the action was well organised, and authorities presumed that the man had assistance with his preparations. The suspect was wearing a bomb belt, carried a large bomb and was holding a metal object resembling a pressure cooker.[16] The prosecutor believed that the bomb exploded prematurely; he speculated that the suspect was on his way to Stockholm Central Station or Åhléns, a large department store in the area.

News media reported that a woman "close to" the suspect was detained in a 4:00 raid of a Hässelby flat by the National Task Force,[17] and a search warrant was issued under the UK Terrorism Act 2000 for a property in Bedfordshire the following day.[18]

On 13 December, the SÄPO announced that seven explosive experts from the FBI would assist the investigation.[19] Security services told TV4 that the suicide bomber's car contained a second pressure cooker bomb.[20] Witnesses said that four days before the bombing, the man tried to buy aluminium powder in his parents' hometown of Tranås.[21]

Tidningarnas Telegrambyrå reported that a member of the Swedish Armed Forces warned an acquaintance in a message to avoid Drottninggatan several hours before the bombings:[22] "If you can, avoid Drottninggatan today. A lot can happen there ... just so you know."[23] The Swedish Armed Forces denied prior knowledge of the attack, promising to investigate further,[24] and the SÄPO launched an independent investigation.[25] The newspaper Expressen later reported that several sources close to the investigation claimed a second government employee had advance information about the bombing.[26]

Terrorism expert Magnus Ranstorp of the Swedish National Defence College said that he believed the perpetrator was not working alone.[27] Background coughing heard on the audio message left by the perpetrator increased suspicions that the bomber had accomplices.[28]

Investigation revealed that the terrorist used at least three different passports to avoid raising red flags when traveling to the Middle East.[29] Suspicions that al-Abdaly had an accomplice increased in January 2011, when the media reported that uncensored recordings of the terrorist's audio message were posted on YouTube the day after he died.[30] Swedish TV4 then reported that Abdulwahab's wife, Mona Thwany, had uploaded the recordings to the couple's YouTube account.[31]

Suspect

Narrow street, with pedestrians and a parked police car
Scene of the second explosion the day after the attack, seen from Drottninggatan

The primary suspect is Taimour Abdulwahab al-Abdaly (12 December 1981 – 11 December 2010).[1][7] According to information from his Facebook profile and the muslima.com dating site (where he was looking for a second wife), he was a 28-year-old Iraqi Swede born in Baghdad who grew up in Tranås and was naturalized as a Swedish citizen in 1992.[32]

After completing secondary school in Sweden in 2001, al-Abdaly studied at the University of Bedfordshire and graduated with a degree in sports therapy in 2004.[33][34] That year he married a Swedish citizen with whom he had two daughters, born in 2007 and 2009, and a son born in 2010. Al-Abdaly named his son Osama in honour of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.[35] At the time of the bombings he was living in Luton, Bedfordshire with his wife, who also holds fundamentalist Islamic views, and he returned to Sweden on 19 November to visit relatives in Tranås.[36]

During his stay in Britain, al-Abdaly lived in Luton for almost a decade.[37] Reports indicated that he became more religious and more angry in the late 2000s. During Ramadan in 2007, after al-Abdaly tried to recruit other Muslims who shared his political views when he preached at the Luton mosque he stormed out when confronted about his beliefs[37] and was forbidden to return.[38] His Facebook profile was reported to contain a mixture of technophile and Islamic fundamentalist postings, peppering sentiments such as "I love my Apple iPad" with references to "the Islamic Caliphate state" and Yawm al-Qiyamah.[7][39] Al-Abdaly also posted internet videos of Chechen fighters and abused Iraqi prisoners.[40]

Reaction

Domestic

Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt held a press conference on 12 December 2010, where he said: "Saturday's events in central Stockholm leads many people to ask whether Sweden has become less safe. What occurred is unwanted and unacceptable. We must safeguard the open society where people can live together side by side."[41] Minister for Foreign Affairs Carl Bildt posted a message on Twitter on 11 December 2010: "Most worrying attempt at terrorist attack in crowded part of central Stockholm. Failed — but could have been truly catastrophic."[3] Swedish Security Service spokesman Mikael Gunnarsson said the agency did not increase the terror-threat level after the bombings: "And apart from the e-mail we didn't have any other indications or threats that this would happen."[3]

Hassan Moussa, imam of the Stockholm Mosque, condemned "all forms of attacks, violence, fears and threats against innocent people, whatever the motive or pretext" in a statement provided to Swedish news agency TT.[42] On 14 December, he issued a fatwa against the suicide bomber: "It's forbidden to approve what has happened or try to justify it. Those who accept it or justify it are as guilty as the perpetrator himself."[43]

Muslim Council of Sweden chairman Omar Mustafa said in an interview, "This is an attack on Sweden and on all Muslims in Sweden."[44] Ben Mahmoud Rahmeh, imam and chairman of the Federation of Islamic Organizations in Europe, and the Islamic Federation of Sweden issued a press release condemning the attacks: "Attacks like this have been carried out earlier in both Muslim and non-Muslim communities (such as in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Pakistan, Spain and the UK) and then the Muslim scholars and theologians' position has been unanimously against such attacks. Also, important Islamic institutions and Muslim inter-governmental organisations, such as Al-Azhar University, the European Council for Fatwa, Organisation of the Islamic Conference, have all been united in that all terrorist attacks against civilians and innocent people is strictly prohibited and that it is not permissible to oppress, harm or intimidate others."[45][46] After the press release was issued, the attack was condemned during Friday prayers at the Stockholm Mosque.[47]

Alexandra Brunell, secretary for Sweden Democrats party leader Jimmie Åkesson reacted to the event by tweeting "Äntligen" ("Finally") while another SD politician, member of parliament William Petzäll posted "I hate to say it, but didn´t we say so?"[48]

International

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Borger, Julian (12 December 2010). "Stockholm bombing: authorities ponder impossibility of policing lone jihadists". The Guardian (London). Archived from the original on 15 December 2010. Retrieved 12 December 2010.
  2. 1 2 Gardham, Duncan; Oscarsson, Marcus and Hutchison, Peter (12 December 2010). "Sweden suicide bomber: Taimur Abdulwahab al-Abdaly was living in Britain". The Daily Telegraph (London). Archived from the original on 21 January 2011. Retrieved 12 December 2010.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Nyberg, Per (12 December 2010). "Explosions in Stockholm believed to be failed terrorist attack". CNN. Retrieved 12 December 2010.
  4. 1 2 "Stockholm blasts kill one and injure two". BBC. 11 December 2010. Archived from the original on 12 December 2010. Retrieved 12 December 2010.
  5. ↑ Anderson, Christina; Bursh, John F. (11 December 2010). "Stockholm Hit by Blasts After E-Mail Warning". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 13 December 2010. Retrieved 12 December 2010.
  6. ↑ Landes, David (12 December 2010). "Stockholm suicide blast a terror attack: police". The Local. Retrieved 12 December 2010.
  7. 1 2 3 Paige, Jonathan (12 December 2010). "Stockholm suicide bomber: Taimour Abdulwahab al-Abdaly profile". The Guardian (London). Archived from the original on 15 December 2010. Retrieved 13 December 2010.
  8. 1 2 "- Regjeringen reagerer med avsky". Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (in Norwegian). 12 December 2010. Retrieved 12 December 2010.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Hanson, Matilda E.; Håkansson, Catarina (11 December 2010). "Man sprängde sig själv i Stockholm". Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 11 December 2010.
  10. ↑ Svahn, Clas (11 December 2010). "Man död efter explosioner i centrala Stockholm". Dagens Nyheter (in Swedish). Retrieved 12 December 2010.
  11. ↑ Nises, Erik (11 December 2010). "Man sprängde sig själv med bomber". Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 11 December 2010.
  12. ↑ "Man sprängde sig själv". Aftonbladet (in Swedish). 12 December 2010. Retrieved 12 December 2010.
  13. ↑ "Terrorbilden". Aftonbladet (in Swedish). 13 December 2010. Retrieved 13 December 2010.
  14. ↑ "Walkie-talkie hittad bredvid bombman". Aftonbladet (in Swedish). 15 December 2010. Retrieved 15 December 2010.
  15. ↑ Victorzon, Andreas (12 December 2010). "Amatörmässigt". Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 12 December 2010.
  16. ↑ "Han hade ett bombbälte". Aftonbladet (in Swedish). 13 December 2010. Retrieved 13 December 2010.
  17. ↑ "Närstående till misstänkte självmordsbombaren gripen". Expressen (in Swedish). 12 December 2010. Retrieved 12 December 2010.
  18. ↑ "Stockholm blasts: Police search house in Luton". BBC. 13 December 2010. Archived from the original on 13 December 2010. Retrieved 13 December 2010.
  19. ↑ "The Swedish Security Service to receive support from the FBI" (Press release). Swedish Security Service. 13 December 2010. Retrieved 13 December 2010.
  20. ↑ "Säpo: Vi vet hur bombaren fick tag på sprängämnena". Aftonbladet (in Swedish). 15 December 2010. Retrieved 15 December 2010.
  21. ↑ "Känt recept bakom bomben". Ny Teknik (in Swedish). 17 December 2010. Retrieved 17 December 2010.
  22. ↑ "Försvarsanställd varnade". Sydsvenskan (in Swedish). 12 December 2010. Retrieved 16 December 2010.
  23. ↑ "Military staffer knew about attacks: report". The Local. 12 December 2010. Archived from the original on 13 December 2010. Retrieved 12 December 2010.
  24. ↑ "Försvarsmakten kände till hotet". Aftonbladet (in Swedish). 12 December 2010. Retrieved 12 December 2010.
  25. ↑ "Självklart måste det här utredas". Aftonbladet (in Swedish). 21 December 2010. Retrieved 22 December 2010.
  26. ↑ "Statsanställd varnades före bomberna". Aftonbladet (in Swedish). 19 January 2011. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
  27. ↑ "Terrorism expert: "Bomber not alone?"". Radio Sweden. 12 December 2010. Archived from the original on 25 December 2010. Retrieved 16 December 2010.
  28. ↑ Evans, Martin (14 December 2010). "Stockholm bomber: police hunt accomplices after 'mystery cough' on tape". The Daily Telegraph (London). Archived from the original on 21 January 2011. Retrieved 16 December 2010.
  29. ↑ "Han reste med flera olika pass". Aftonbladet (in Swedish). 23 December 2010. Retrieved 23 December 2010.
  30. ↑ "Nätet avslöjar medhjälparen". Aftonbladet (in Swedish). 3 January 2011. Retrieved 3 January 2011.
  31. ↑ Mona: Det var jag som lade ut filen, Aftonbladet, 4 January 2011.
  32. ↑ Hoppe, Karoline (12 December 2010). "Svårt att förstå att det verkligen kan vara han". Dagens Nyheter (in Swedish). Retrieved 13 December 2010.
  33. ↑ Evans, Martin (13 December 2010). "Stockholm bomber: family blame Britain for radicalisation". The Daily Telegraph (London). Archived from the original on 21 January 2011. Retrieved 13 December 2010.
  34. ↑ Burns, John F.; Somaiya, Ravi (13 December 2010). "One of the Sweden Bombs Exploded Prematurely". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 13 December 2010. Retrieved 13 December 2010.
  35. ↑ Evans, Martin (14 December 2010). "Stockholm bomber: police hunt accomplices after 'mystery cough' on tape". The Daily Telegraph (London). Archived from the original on 21 January 2011. Retrieved 14 December 2010.
  36. ↑ Berglund, Josefine (15 December 2010). "Han kom hem – och lurade alla". Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 16 December 2010.
  37. 1 2 "Luton mosque 'challenged bomber's extreme views'". BBC News. 13 December 2010. Archived from the original on 14 December 2010. Retrieved 14 December 2010.
  38. ↑ Rayner, Gordon; Bloxham, Andy; Roberts, Laura (13 December 2010). "Stockholm bomber was thrown out of Luton mosque for trying to recruit extremists". The Daily Telegraph (London). Retrieved 13 December 2010.
  39. ↑ Berg, Tanja Iren; Haugen, Ida Anna; Torgersen, Hans Henrik; Brenna, Jarle; Framstad, Anders Park (12 December 2010). "Mulig bombemann: Selvsikker småbarnsfar med sterke meninger". Verdens Gang (in Norwegian). Retrieved 12 December 2010.
  40. ↑ Jill Lawless And Malin Rising (13 December 2010). "Taimour Abdulwahab, Stockholm Bomber, Seen As Radical By U.K. Muslims". Huffingtonpost.com. Retrieved 2013-07-22.
  41. ↑ "Comments by Fredrik Reinfeldt" (Press release). Prime Minister's Office. 12 December 2010. Retrieved 12 December 2010.
  42. ↑ "Local imam condemns Stockholm bombings". The Local. 12 December 2010. Archived from the original on 12 December 2010. Retrieved 12 December 2010.
  43. ↑ "Svensk imam uttalar fatwa mot terrordådet". Sveriges Radio (in Swedish). 14 December 2010. Retrieved 14 December 2010.
  44. ↑ "Landets moskéer enas mot terrorn". Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). 17 December 2010. Retrieved 17 December 2010.
  45. ↑ "Uttalande angående attentatet lördagen 11/12/2010 i Stockholm" (Press release) (in Swedish). 17 December 2010. Retrieved 17 December 2010.
  46. ↑ "Uttalande angående attentatet lördagen 11/12/2010 i Stockholm" (Press release) (in Arabic). 17 December 2010. Retrieved 17 December 2010.
  47. ↑ "Terrordåd fördömdes på fredagsbönen". Aftonbladet (in Swedish). 17 December 2010. Retrieved 17 December 2010.
  48. ↑ http://www.expressen.se/nyheter/sd-gjorde-bort-sig-pa-twitter-om-terrorspekulationer/
  49. ↑ "Statement on Attack in Sweden" (Press release). Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. 12 December 2010. Retrieved 12 December 2010.
  50. ↑ "Udtalelse fra udenrigsministeren efter bombesprængning i Stockholm" (Press release) (in Danish). Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 12 December 2010. Retrieved 12 December 2010.
  51. ↑ "Utrikesminister Stubb uttryckte oro över bombexplosionerna i Stockholm" (Press release) (in Swedish). Ministry for Foreign Affairs. 12 December 2010. Retrieved 12 December 2010.
  52. ↑ "Federal Minister Westerwelle condemns suicide attack in Stockholm" (Press release). Federal Foreign Office. 12 December 2010. Retrieved 12 December 2010.
  53. ↑ "Foreign Ministry Condemns the Terrorist Act In Sweden" (Press release). Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 13 December 2010. Retrieved 14 December 2010.
  54. ↑ Olsen, Ole N.; Torgersen, Hans Henrik (12 December 2010). "Storberget utelukker ikke terroraksjoner i Norge". Verdens Gang (in Norwegian). Retrieved 12 December 2010.
  55. ↑ "Pakistan condemns explosions in Stockholm" (Press release). Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 14 December 2010. Retrieved 14 December 2010.
  56. ↑ "Saudi Arabia Strongly Condemns Terrorist Attack in Stockholm". Qatar News Agency. 14 December 2010. Retrieved 14 December 2010.
  57. ↑ "Turkey condemns Swedish 'terrorist' attack". Hürriyet Daily News and Economic Review. 13 December 2010. Retrieved 13 December 2010.
  58. ↑ Savage, James (12 December 2010). "Bomb attack draws condemnation". The Local. Archived from the original on 13 December 2010. Retrieved 13 December 2010.
  59. ↑ "Statement on Stockholm suspected terrorist attack". Embassy of the United States Stockholm, Sweden (on Facebook). 12 December 2010. Retrieved 13 December 2010.

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