Sweden bomber had links to UK
Source: Agencies |
December 14, 2010, Tuesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
THE suicide bomber who killed himself in Stockholm carried three sets of bombs and had sent threats referring to "jihad" in an email shortly before his death, a prosecutor said yesterday.
Prosecutor Tomas Lindstrand identified the suicide bomber behind Saturday's blasts as 28-year-old Taimour Abdulwahab, a Swedish citizen who had been living in Britain for the past 10 years.
Parts of the explosives probably detonated by mistake before Abdulwahab reached his final destination, the prosecutor said.
"He had three sets of bombs and I don't think his intention was to only blow himself up," Lindstrand said. "It was a failure, luckily."
He said Abdulwahab had bombs strapped to his body, more in a backpack and also carried "something that looked like a pressure-cooker."
Abdulwahab was also the registered owner of the car that exploded in Stockholm shortly before the suicide blast which also wounded two people. Threats emailed to police and the Swedish news agency TT before the blasts have been linked to his cell phone, Lindstrand said.
"He was well-equipped with bomb material, so I guess it isn't a too daring a guess to say he was on his way to a place where there were as many people as possible, maybe the central station, maybe Ahlens," Lindstrand said, referring to a nearby subway station and department store.
Abdulwahab, who had roots in the Middle East, had been a Swedish citizen since 1992. Although he had apparently harbored radical ideas for some time, Lindstrand said he was unknown to Swedish police before the blasts.
The prosecutor said it was difficult for Swedish police to keep track of him since he had lived in Britain for the past 10 years and was only in Sweden for his father's birthday.
"To read, to analyze, to understand, to make correct assessments from Facebook, I mean, we don't have a Stasi organization, it's a free country," Lindstrand said.
Abdulwahab apparently had ties to Luton, a town about 50 kilometers north of London, which has a large Muslim community and has seen tensions rise in recent years.
Farasat Latif, secretary of the Luton Islamic Centre, said Abdulwahab had gone there "for a couple of months" in 2006 or 2007.
On his Facebook account, Abdulwahab had posted comments against Shiites, whom Sunni Muslims consider heretics, as well as a link to a video showing a dying man, maybe injured in Chechnya, praying to God to die as martyr.
Abdulwahab commented on the video, writing: "Taimour likes Abu Dujana, the death of a shaheed (martyr)."
On Sunday, the al-Qaida affiliated Shumokh al-Islam website posted a message calling Abdulwahab a "brother" and quoting a prayer saying "God let me die as you are satisfied."
Prosecutor Tomas Lindstrand identified the suicide bomber behind Saturday's blasts as 28-year-old Taimour Abdulwahab, a Swedish citizen who had been living in Britain for the past 10 years.
Parts of the explosives probably detonated by mistake before Abdulwahab reached his final destination, the prosecutor said.
"He had three sets of bombs and I don't think his intention was to only blow himself up," Lindstrand said. "It was a failure, luckily."
He said Abdulwahab had bombs strapped to his body, more in a backpack and also carried "something that looked like a pressure-cooker."
Abdulwahab was also the registered owner of the car that exploded in Stockholm shortly before the suicide blast which also wounded two people. Threats emailed to police and the Swedish news agency TT before the blasts have been linked to his cell phone, Lindstrand said.
"He was well-equipped with bomb material, so I guess it isn't a too daring a guess to say he was on his way to a place where there were as many people as possible, maybe the central station, maybe Ahlens," Lindstrand said, referring to a nearby subway station and department store.
Abdulwahab, who had roots in the Middle East, had been a Swedish citizen since 1992. Although he had apparently harbored radical ideas for some time, Lindstrand said he was unknown to Swedish police before the blasts.
The prosecutor said it was difficult for Swedish police to keep track of him since he had lived in Britain for the past 10 years and was only in Sweden for his father's birthday.
"To read, to analyze, to understand, to make correct assessments from Facebook, I mean, we don't have a Stasi organization, it's a free country," Lindstrand said.
Abdulwahab apparently had ties to Luton, a town about 50 kilometers north of London, which has a large Muslim community and has seen tensions rise in recent years.
Farasat Latif, secretary of the Luton Islamic Centre, said Abdulwahab had gone there "for a couple of months" in 2006 or 2007.
On his Facebook account, Abdulwahab had posted comments against Shiites, whom Sunni Muslims consider heretics, as well as a link to a video showing a dying man, maybe injured in Chechnya, praying to God to die as martyr.
Abdulwahab commented on the video, writing: "Taimour likes Abu Dujana, the death of a shaheed (martyr)."
On Sunday, the al-Qaida affiliated Shumokh al-Islam website posted a message calling Abdulwahab a "brother" and quoting a prayer saying "God let me die as you are satisfied."
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
