Bomb squad specialists have been called in after several cities in Sweden have reported a series of explosions in a span of an hour as authorities are struggling to curb a rise of gang-related violence as they settle scores fueled by the drug trade.
In total, there were four explosions that happened in rapid succession.
Police in the Swedish city of Gothenburg said they received reports of two explosions at separate addresses and 10 minutes apart just after 01:00 local time Thursday, August 31 (Wednesday, August 30, 23:00 UTC). Police added they have cordoned off both sides to allow bomb squad operatives to conduct technical investigations at the scene.
No person was injured in both incidents, they added.
Gothenburg Police told Agence France-Presse it was too early to speculate on a motive for the two blasts in the city.
Other Explosions
An hour after the explosions in Gothenburg, another two explosions were recorded minutes apart near Stockholm, one in Norsborg, a suburb of the capital city, and the other in Nyköping, about 62 miles (100km) south of Stockholm. Police also said no one was hurt in both incidents.
All four blasts occurred in residential buildings.
According to Swedish police data, 90 explosions and 101 cases of attempted explosions or preparations for bombings have been reported in 2022. There are already 109 explosions recorded as of August 15 this year alone.
The country also registered 391 shootings in 2022, 62 of them fatal. According to police data, the shooting fatalities were up from 45 in 2021.
Police have previously said bombs were mainly used to intimidate targets, while shootings were used to kill them.
Gang-related violence also contributes to Sweden's internal security issues following threats of terrorist attacks due to recent Quran-burning incidents.
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