Sweden has raised its security threat level following a number of Quran burnings in the country.
The head of the Swedish security service (Säpo), Charlotte von Essen, said Thursday that “we have gone from being considered a legitimate target to a priority target for violent Islamism.” She said the security level was being raised from three to four — described as “high threat.” The highest level is five.
While that is — with the exception of a few months in 2015 and 2016 — the highest level since 2010, von Essen appealed to the public to “continue living life as usual.”
Von Essen also warned Swedes about disinformation, telling them “not to believe unconfirmed information or rumors.”
Meanwhile, the Estonian foreign ministry urged people visiting Sweden “to be more attentive than usual and to avoid large public gatherings.” On Monday, the U.K. warned that “terrorists are very likely to try and carry out attacks in Sweden.”
In recent weeks, Sweden and Denmark have witnessed several Quran burnings often led by far-right protesters, which were condemned by the EU. The incidents have caused backlash in Muslim-majority countries and last month protestors stormed the Swedish embassy in Baghdad in light of a planned Quran burning in Sweden.
Earlier this year, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said that if Sweden did not show respect to Turkey or Muslims, he would not support the country’s NATO aspirations. Erdoğan later changed his position, backing Sweden’s NATO bid after meeting with other leaders in the alliance in Vilnius.
