Swedish cities hit by four residential explosions in an hour
Bomb squad experts have been called in after Swedish cities were rocked by four explosions in an hour, police have said, with the country struggling to rein in a rise of gang-related violence.
Just after 1am local time (midnight BST), police in Gothenburg received reports of two explosions at separate addresses, 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 said.
An hour later another two explosions were reported minutes apart – one in Norsborg, a suburb south of Stockholm, and the other in Nyköping, about 62 miles (100km) south of the capital.
In both cases, police said no one was hurt. All four blasts were at resi
Sweden has struggled to contain an increase in shootings and bombings in recent years as gangs settle scores fuelled by the drugs trade.
Gothenburg police told Agence France-Presse it was too early to speculate on a motive for the two blasts in the city.
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.
Police have previously said bombs are mainly used to intimidate targets, while shootings are used to kill enemies.
The country registered 391 shootings in 2022, 62 of them fatal, up from 45 the previous year, according to police data.