Denmark’s government has said it is willing to increase police resources to combat the growing frequency of terrorist attacks by Swedish youths in Copenhagen.
In a statement on Instagram on Saturday, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen wrote “there is a high level of threat in Denmark” and called it “a very serious situation”.
“If there is a need for the police to get more equipment to deal with the situation, then the government is more than ready to listen. All Danes should be able to feel safe,” she said.
On Saturday, the police announced that security at Denmark’s borders with Sweden and Germany will be tightened.
Commuters should expect journeys across the Øresund to take longer than usual, and that random checks may be carried out, senior police inspector at Copenhagen Police Peter Dahl told Ritzau.
“That means we will be on the trains. We will be on the buses and we will stop some cars. So, sample security, but more than you are used to seeing.”
He added that the security checks would target in particular Swedes aged 14 to 20.
On Wednesday, a 16-year-old boy and 19-year-old man – both Swedes – were arrested after two hand grenades were detonated in the early hours of the day near the Israeli embassy in Hellerup.
Another 19-year-old suspect was also apprehended, but subsequently released, according to the Copenhagen Police.
The two were charged with possession and detonation of hand grenades, and appeared in a constitutional court on Thursday, according to a police press release.
However, on Saturday the were additionally charged with violating the terrorism section of the criminal code:
“The two Swedish citizens who were charged for the explosions in Hellerup earlier this week, this morning are now also charged with violation of Section 114 of the Criminal Code, as grounds have been found for this,” stated Copenhagen Police in a post on X.
The Copenhagen attack was orchestrated by the Swedish criminal gang known as the ‘Foxtrot’ network, according to SVT (Swedish Television). The group was also responsible for gunfire at the Israeli embassy in Stockholm on Tuesday, in which nobody was injured, writes the media.
Foxtrot has existed for several years and its leader Rawa Majid has previously been accused by Israel’s intelligence service of carrying out acts of violence against the Israeli embassy in Stockholm via his network.
Sweden’s security service Sapo said that Iran may have been involved in the explosions and gunfire in Stockholm and Copenhagen earlier this week.
Fredrik Hallstrom of Sapo said that choice of targets and methods pointed in the direction of Iran, but added this was an “assumption rather than pure knowledge”, according to the BBC.
In an interview with the Danish media Berlingske, Swedish terrorism researcher Magnus Ranstorp indicated that Foxtrot’s attacks may be supported by Iranian sources.
Iran “can relatively easily hire gang criminals to attack targets in Scandinavia”, he told the media.
The Iranian embassy in Stockholm called the accusations “baseless” and harmful to the two countries’ relations.
Denmark’s Centre for Terrorism Analysis (CTA), which produces regular evaluations of Denmark’s terrorism landscape with regard to Section 114 of the Criminal Code, described the threat level as “serious” – corresponding to a level four out of five – in its latest national report from March 2024.
“The terrorist threat against Denmark is still at a serious level. Relations in 2023, primarily cases of perceived violations of Islam as well as the conflict between Israel and militant groups in Palestine, has contributed to intensifying the terrorist threat within the current level. CTA estimates that these dynamics will continue to be of decisive importance for the threat picture in 2024,” said the CTA.
According to DR, the current situation has not changed the CTA’s evaluation of the terrorist threat against Denmark.
Justice Minister Peter Hummelgaard, in a comment to Ritzau about the terrorism charges brought against the two Swedes in Copenhagen, said that there are “dark forces that wish us harm”.
“If anyone should have had any doubts about the seriousness of the past week’s events around the Israeli embassy, the new charges unfortunately emphasize with all desirable clarity that the terrorist threat against Denmark is serious.”
