What appear to be a pair of terrorist bomb blasts killed one person — allegedly the bomber — and injured two bystanders in Stockholm over the weekend, badly shaking a nation that has long considered itself safely removed from such threats. "I know things like this happen," Stockholm schoolteacher Anna Eriksson told Time, "but I never thought it could happen here." A prosecutor identified the suspected suicide bomber as Taimour al-Abdaly, 28, an Iraqi-born Swedish citizen believed to have turned to radical Islam while studying in Britain. Why would terrorists go after Sweden? (See footage of the blasts' aftermath)
Sweden has a small presence in Afghanistan: "Sweden may not be in NATO," says Tim Marshall in Sky News, "but it does have 500 troops in Afghanistan." That alone is enough to earn a spot on "the terrorist target list." Meanwhile, a voicemail left for authorities a few minutes before the blast suggested the attacks were meant to punish Swedes for supporting cartoonist Lars Vilks, who depicted the Prophet Mohammed as a dog in 2007.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.
Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.