‘Dangerous Object’ Found at Israeli Embassy in Sweden Investigated as Possible Terrorist Attack

Police officers are seen outside the Israeli embassy in Stockholm, January 31, 2024. A han
Getty Images

STOCKHOLM (AP) – Sweden’s domestic security agency said Friday that it’s investigating “a dangerous object” that was found at the Israeli Embassy in Stockholm earlier this week as possible terrorism.

The agency, known by its acronym SAPO, said that it had taken over the investigation from Stockholm police, which haven’t disclosed what exactly was found on the embassy’s grounds on Wednesday. The object, described by some Swedish media as a hand grenade, was found near the fence of the diplomatic mission, which is located in the eastern part of Stockholm.

Dozens of officers were dispatched to the scene and the area was sealed off before a bomb squad arrived. A police spokeswoman said that the object eventually was destroyed. The embassy wasn’t evacuated. No arrests have been made.

SAPO said that it was now investigating what the agency considers to be a “terrorist crime through grossly illegal threats and attempts to cause public destruction.” The domestic security agency said that it wouldn’t comment further, because the investigation is at a preliminary phase.

Hours after embassy staff spotted an object that they suspected was dangerous and alerted authorities, Israeli Ambassador Ziv Nevo Kulman tweeted that “today we were subject to an attempted attack against the Embassy of Israel in Stockholm and its employees.”

“We will not be intimidated by terror,” he wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Police officers are seen outside the Israeli embassy in Stockholm, January 31, 2024. A hand grenade was found near the Israeli embassy in Stockholm, Sweden on Wednesday, the explosive device was destroyed by the National Bomb Squad. (Photo by Henrik MONTGOMERY / TT News Agency / AFP) / Sweden OUT (Photo by HENRIK MONTGOMERY/TT News Agency/AFP via Getty Images)

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