Sweden raised its terrorist alert to its second highest level Thursday (August 17) following reports of alleged attacks in line with the outrage from the Muslim community created by anti-Islam activists burning the Quran.
In response to anti-Islam protests, officials in Stockholm said it thwarted alleged attacks and received threats from jihadists.
Both Sweden and neighboring Denmark are two of the most liberal countries in the world allowing anti-Islamic criticism in the name of free speech.
Return of the Al Qaeda
Muslims view the Quran as the holiest of their religious texts, and the burning of such meant desecration and sacrilege that a media outlet linked to the militant group Al Qaeda urged the Muslim world to go on acts of violent retribution, according to Reuters.
Due to the presence of such threats, the Swedish Security Service (SAPO) raised the terrorist alert from 3 to 4, one level below its highest of 5.
The Associated Press added this is the first time the alert level was raised to such a level since 2016.
"The decision to raise the level is not prompted by a single event but we know that Hezbollah, al Shabaab, and al Qaeda have called on their supporters to carry out acts against Sweden," SAPO head Charlotte von Essen told a news conference.
The worst militant attack in Sweden in recent times happened in 2017 after an Uzbek militant who pledged allegiance to the Islamic State militant group mowed down pedestrians on a busy Stockholm street with a truck, which resulted in the death of five people.
PM Kristersson to Swedes: Defend Our Way of Life
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson also confirmed in the news conference that people have been arrested in the country and abroad after planned attacks were detected and stopped.
"I understand that many Swedes feel worried but we must live our lives as usual, we must stand up for our lives and our way of life," he added.
In response to the alert level, the Swedish armed forces have also raised the alert level for threats against their operations, while the UK and the US have warned their nationals against going to Sweden.
The recent Quran burnings have drawn the ire of the whole Muslim world that people in Muslim-majority nations organized demonstrations, and in some cases, the storming of Sweden's embassies in such countries.
