Swedish Teenager Charged with Planning ISIS-Inspired Knife Attack on High School
The suspect allegedly planned to injure or kill people at a high school in the southern Swedish town of Halmstad between March 1 and April 13, according to a statement from the Swedish Prosecution Authority.
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – A 19-year-old man in Sweden has been charged with planning a knife attack on a high school in the name of the Islamic State (ISIS) jihadist group, prosecutors said on Friday.
The suspect allegedly planned to injure or kill people at a high school in the southern Swedish town of Halmstad between March 1 and April 13, according to a statement from the Swedish Prosecution Authority.
He faces charges of belonging to a terrorist organization and public incitement to terrorism. He was arrested in April, the statement added, without disclosing his identity.
Deputy Chief Prosecutor Henrik Olin said prosecutors could demonstrate that the suspect had "a direct terrorist intent."
The Swedish Security Service (Sapo), which conducted the preliminary investigation, said the accused had consumed and circulated violent Islamist propaganda online.
He had also expressed willingness to swear allegiance to ISIS and encouraged others to spread the group's message, Sapo said.
The suspect's trial is scheduled to begin on November 19 and is expected to last four days. It remains unclear whether he was a student at the targeted school or what his nationality is.
Sapo's head of operations, Fredrik Hallstrom, said the ability of traditional terrorist organisations to direct attacks against European countries had declined.
"The primary threat of attacks now comes from individuals who act on their own against easily accessible targets using simple means, such as bladed weapons," he said.
Hallstrom also warned that children and young people are increasingly exposed to terrorist propaganda and graphic violent content on social media and other digital platforms.
He described the case as an example of the current terrorist threat facing Sweden, warning that children and young people are particularly at risk of being drawn into extremist activities.
The Islamic State group carried out numerous attacks across Europe from 2014 onward. However, US-led forces largely dismantled its territorial strongholds in Iraq in 2017 and Syria in 2019.