STOCKHOLM (Reuters) – News from Belgium that two Swedes were shot dead in Brussels was terrible, Swedish Justice Minister Gunnar Strommer said on Monday, and follows recent police warnings in Sweden of potential attacks over Koran burnings.
“Tonight we have received terrible news from Brussels. The Government office and relevant authorities are working intensively to get more information about what happened,” Strommer told Reuters.
The Swedish government was in contact with Belgian authorities to seek more information, he added.
Sweden in August raised its terrorist alert to the second highest level, warning of an increase in threats against Swedish interests also abroad, after Koran burnings and other acts in Sweden against Islam’s holiest text outraged Muslims and triggered threats from jihadists.
The Swedish government has condemned the burnings and is considering amending laws that could stop them but critics say such moves need to preserve far-reaching freedom of speech.
(Reporting by Anna Ringstrom, editing by Terje Solsvik)
