Stockholm blasts were 'terror crimes'

Swedish police has said terrorists are behind two explosions that rocked central Stockholm on Saturday.

A car burst into flames near a busy shopping street in the city centre, followed by explosions inside which police said were caused by gas canisters. A second blast, about 300m away and ten-15 minutes later, killed one man and wounded two people.

The Swedish news agency TT said that before the explosions, it had received a threatening letter about Sweden's military presence in Afghanistan and caricatures of the Prophet Mohammad drawn several years ago by a Swedish cartoonist.

Anders Thornberg, director of operations at the Security Police, said police could neither confirm that the man who died was a suicide bomber nor discuss his identity as some family members had not yet been informed.

Mr Thornberg said: "We are investigating this as terror crimes according to Swedish law ... we have not raised the security level. As far as we know, it looks like he was working for himself, but we have to be really sure so we are investigating that there could be more perpetrators."

Swedish newspapers said the man had blown himself up. Dagens Nyheter quoted a medic as saying: "It looked as if the man had been carrying something that exploded in his stomach. He had no injuries to the face or body in general and the shops around were not damaged."

Aftonbladet quoted a source as saying the man was carrying six pipebombs, of which one exploded, and a rucksack full of nails and suspected explosive material. The paper quoted witnesses as saying the man was shouting in what was apparently Arabic.

TT said the email it received was also sent to the Security Police and had sound files in Swedish and Arabic.

"Our actions will speak for themselves, as long as you do not end your war against Islam and humiliation of the Prophet and your stupid support for the pig Vilks," the agency quoted a man as saying in one recording.

The threat appeared to refer to Sweden's contribution to the US-led NATO force in Afghanistan, and to caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad by the Swedish artist Lars Vilks, who depicted the Prophet with the body of a dog in a cartoon in 2007.