The Diplomat
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation has advised Spaniards planning to travel to Sweden to exercise extreme caution after the country’s authorities raised the risk level of terrorist attacks on its territory, reports Europa Press.
The department headed by José Manuel Albares has updated the travel recommendations published on the Ministry’s website to inform that “the Swedish authorities consider that Sweden has gone from being a ‘legitimate’ terrorist target to being a ‘priority’ target, with an increase in the possibility of attacks in the country, so it is recommended to exercise extreme care and caution”.
Sweden’s security services raised the anti-terrorism alert level on Thursday. Sweden has so far remained at level three out of five, but both the Security Service (SAPO) and the Armed Forces have decided to raise it to four, which means that the risk of attacks is high. The two institutions have avoided giving details of the exact reasons for this change.
SAPO chief Charlotte von Essen clarified that it does not depend on a single event, but is part of a broader, long-term analysis, although she cited Russia’s military offensive in Ukraine and disinformation campaigns as factors that have contributed to the increased risk.
Sweden has also been in the spotlight in recent weeks for the burning of copies of the Koran, which has been met with political criticism and demonstrations from Muslim-majority countries. Indeed, a few days ago al-Qaeda issued a statement calling for attacks in the Scandinavian country.
