BERLIN – German police detained on Tuesday two Afghan citizens accused of planning to attack police near the Swedish parliament in response to the burning of copies of the Quran, the Muslim holy book, federal prosecutors said.
The prosecutors said the Islamic State group´s affiliate in Afghanistan tasked the suspects in mid-2023 with carrying out an attack in Europe in response to Quran burnings in Sweden and other countries.
The pair made preparations for an attack on police and other people near the parliament in the Swedish capital, Stockholm, “in close coordination” with IS members, including doing online research of the location and tried unsuccessfully to procure weapons, the statement said. The attack never materialized.
Anti-Islam activists have carried out a string of public desecrations of the Quran in Sweden, sparking outrage among Muslims around the world and threats from Islamic extremists. In October, a gunman killed two Swedish soccer fans before a match in Brussels.
Swedish authorities had raised the terror alert to its second-highest level in August. They were concerned of a similar escalation as the fury Denmark faced from Muslim countries in 2006, following the publication of newspaper caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad.
Prosecutors said Ibrahim M. G. joined the IS affiliate in August 2023. Together with Ramin N., he had raised 2,000 euros ($2,170 ) in donations for the Islamic State group to help a member jailed in northern Syria.
The Afghans are suspected of crimes including providing support to a terrorist organization, conspiracy to commit a crime, and infringements against trade laws.
Muslim Groups Call for Sweden to Make Quran Burning and Mocking Islam Illegal https://t.co/dYBJWTAa6P
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) September 15, 2020
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