BERLIN (AP) – German police detained two Afghans on Tuesday on suspicion of planning an attack on police near the Swedish parliament in response to the burning of copies of the Islamic holy book, the Koran, federal prosecutors said. .
The suspects, identified only as Afghan nationals Ibrahim MG and Ramin N, were detained in the eastern city of Ghera, the Federal Prosecutor’s Office said in a statement. According to German privacy laws, the men were identified only by their first names and initials.
Prosecutors said the Islamic State group in Afghanistan tasked the suspects with carrying out attacks in Europe in mid-2023 in response to Koran bonfires in Sweden and other countries.
US warns of terrorist threat in Sweden after Quran burning https://t.co/eSVsUEasmq
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) February 9, 2023
The statement said the pair worked “closely” with IS members to prepare for an attack on police and others near the parliament building in Stockholm, the Swedish capital, by researching the scene online and carrying weapons. They also tried to procure it, but failed. The attack never materialized.
Anti-Muslim activists in Sweden have carried out a series of public desecrations of the Koran, sparking anger 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 raised the country’s terror alert level to its second-highest level in August. They feared an escalation similar to the outrage Denmark faced from Islamic countries after cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad were published in newspapers in 2006.
Denmark’s consulates and embassies were set on fire, and cartoonists faced death threats from Islamic extremists. Attempts by Danish authorities to explain how such cartoons are protected under freedom of speech were widely rejected in the Muslim world.
According to prosecutors, Ibrahim MG joined the IS affiliate in August 2023. He and Ramin N. had collected 2,000 euros ($2,170) in donations to the Islamic State group to support its imprisoned members in northern Syria.
The Afghans are suspected of crimes including supporting terrorist organizations, criminal conspiracy and violating trade laws.
Muslim groups call on Sweden to make it illegal to burn Quran and mock Islam https://t.co/dYBJWTAa6P
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) September 15, 2020
