STOCKHOLM, Sweden, Nov. 18 (UPI) ─ Sweden raised its terror threat level to high for the first time in the country’s history Wednesday after “concrete information” pointed to a terrorist plot.
Sweden’s security chief raised the threat level by one step to a four on a five-level scale. Level four indicates a high threat with players who have the intent and meansto carry out an attack. Police have stepped up patrols in “strategic and public places.”
Sweden’s Security Service said the change in the threat level is based on “what is known in the present, and on possible future developments.”
“One of the reasons for the increase is that the security service has received concrete information and concluded that we must act within the framework of our counter-terror work,” police said in a written statement.
Swedish news channel SVT reported the suspect may be of Iraqi descent. Police are expected to release more information, including a picture of the suspect, at a later date. It was not clear if the suspect was still in Sweden.
The last time the threat level was raised in Sweden was 2010 in connection to threats against artist Lars Vilks who is known for drawing the Prophet Muhammed.
The news comes as countries in the European Union are on edge following a series of terror attacks Friday in Paris which killed 129 people and injured hundreds. Authorities in Hannover, Germany, canceled a soccer match between Germany and the Netherlands, and evacuated the stadium one hour before game time Tuesday after discovering a “suspicious object.”
