Säpo attacked an Islamic association in Tyresö, according to information to TV4 Nyheterna.
Terrorist researcher Magnus Ranstorp believes that it is unusual for a crackdown on this type of premises.
– They simply have to step in before it becomes too dangerous, he says.
On Thursday, the Security Police raided several addresses south of Stockholm, according to information given to TV4 Nyheterna. One of the places was an Islamic association in Tyresö.
The criminal suspicions will be about terrorism and four people have been arrested for preparation for terrorist crimes and serious weapons crimes. In addition, the suspects are linked to IS.
Säpo cannot go into more detail about how imminent the terror plans were.
– Based on what our intelligence work gave us, we needed to act to break this planned crime and ward off a possible threat. The investigation has been going on for a long time, says Fredrik Hultgren-Friberg, press secretary.
Magnus Ranstorp: Must go in before it gets too dangerous
Terrorist researcher Magnus Ranstorp believes that Säpo has had enough evidence to attack, among other things, the Islamic association. But also that it is somewhat unusual for the Security Police to share so much information.
– You do that because you are quite sure of what you are doing. You want to share what can be shared that does not breach confidentiality, he says.
Magnus Ranstorp says that you don’t see these types of attacks every day – especially not against a local like an Islamic association.
– That is unusual. Sometimes there are clusters and sometimes individuals that have been bred for a long time. The reason they’re going in is because they want it to end so it doesn’t become a danger to the public. But there hasn’t been a direct strike like this against this type of venue, he says.
Exactly where the people were arrested is still unknown. But pictures from the scene show that several windows of the Islamic association were smashed and that a door was demolished. In addition, there were reports of an explosion in the area on Thursday afternoon which is believed to be linked to the National Task Force crackdown.
“Interesting with the IS connection”
According to the terror researcher, the fact that the arrested persons have connections to IS is not entirely unexpected.
– There is this type of activity in Sweden. They also appear in Europe every now and then. Several cells have been discovered in Europe, he says.
What kind of attack could these people have planned?
– Everything can be possible. It is impossible to say with so little information. But the IS connection is interesting. You want to be relevant and they have been a bit in the shadows for a while, he says.