More details on Stockholm attack

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Swedish authorities today released more details about the suicide bomber who struck the city of Stockholm on Saturday. A warning message was sent just before the blasts to a Swedish news agency. Anchor Lisa Mullins speaks with the managing editor of that agency, Mats Johansson, in Stockholm. Download MP3

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Lisa Mullins: I’m Lisa Mullins, and this is the world, a co-production of the BBC world service, PRI, and WGBH in Boston. We’re learning more details today about the suicide bomber who set off two bombs in Stockholm, Saturday. He was the only person killed in the attack. Swedish authorities say that they are 90% certain that the man was Taimur Abdulwahab al-Abdaly. They say that he owned the car that exploded in a shopping district, and they say he was carrying explosives on a belt in a rucksack. We also know a bit about Abdulwahab’s background. He was born in Iraq, but he grew up in Sweden, and went to college in England. A news agency was sent some audio thought to be from the bomber. The managing editor of the TT news agency is Mats Johansson. He is now in Stockholm.Mats, thank you very much for talking to us. Now, when did the agency get this audio?

Mats Johansson: We received the audio files about 10 minutes before the explosion.

Mullins: 10 minutes before. And they arrived by email, correct?

Johansson: That is correct.

Mullins: OK, let’s listen right now to an exerpt.

Taimur Abdulwahab al-Abdaly: Withdraw your soldiers from Afghanistan, and no more oppression against Islam or Muslims will be tolerated in any way or any means.

Mullins: So this email, who first heard it?

Johansson: It was one of our news editors in charge that Saturday afternoon. He just noticed there were three audio files. It seemed to be a quite heavy email, so he didn’t open it at first.

Mullins: And what was in the other audio files?

Johansson: The content of them was quite similar. They were in three different languages. It was Swedish, English and Arabic.

Mullins: So what happened then, after one of your editors listened to the audio files?

Johansson: When we listened to that man, we saw after a while, it was emailed to us, and it was simultaneously emailed to the Swedish security police. So we contacted the police and asked them if there was any connection between the content of the audio file and the bombing in Stockholm.

Mullins: And, what did they say?

Johansson: Today they have confirmed that the voice on the audio file was the bomber.

Mullins: And in the larger picture, Mats, the security warnings have been raised for some time now – since the fall I think – in Sweden about possible terrorist attacks. But still can you tell us what the reaction is there?

Johansson: There has been a lot of bad things happening in Sweden throughout the last years. We had one of our ministers stabbed to death in downtown Stockholm. And some 20 years ago, our prime minister was shot in downtown Stockholm. So we know that bad things happen. But of course, a bomb going off in a busy shopping strip just before Christmas, that is a bit of a shock. If all the explosives would have exploded, the damages would have been much worse, and a large number of people could have died.

Mullins: And has it resulted in either more security or people being more protective of themselves?

Johannson: Well, the police say that they are going to send out more policemen, just to be seen, just to be visible in the streets, so that people could be able to feel a bit more safe. 1

Mullins: Mats Johannson of the TT news agency in Stockholm. Thank you very much.

Johannson: Thank you.

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