News / EU

Swedish cities hit by four explosions in an hour: Police

Thursday, 31 August 2023 7:02 PM [ Last Update: Thursday, 31 August 2023 7:02 PM ]

A photo by Getty images show Police at the site of one of two explosions in Gothenburg.

Police have said bomb squad experts have been called in after Swedish cities were rocked by four explosions in an hour.

Media reports said on Thursday that police in the west coast city of Gothenburg first received reports of explosions around 1:00 a.m. local time (2300GMT) at two different residential addresses only 10 minutes apart.

“Both sites have been cordoned off and technical investigations are ongoing,” police said, adding that the national bomb squad had been called to the scene.

“There are no reports of people being injured, only material damage,” police noted.

Gothenburg police it was too early to speculate on a motive for the two blasts in the city.

An hour later another two explosions were reported minutes apart – one in Norsborg, a suburb south of Stockholm, and the other in Nyköping, about 100km south of the capital.

In recent years, Sweden has struggled to contain an increase in shootings and bombings as the Nordic country is struggling to contain gang-related violence.

Police have previously said bombs are mainly used to intimidate targets, while shootings are used to kill enemies.

In 2022, there were 90 explosions and 101 cases of attempted bombings or preparations for bombings in Sweden, according to police data. As of 15 August this year, 109 explosions had been recorded.

The country registered 391 shootings in 2022, 62 of them fatal, up from 45 the previous year.

Police have previously said bombs are mainly used to intimidate targets, while shootings are used to kill enemies.

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