(Updated 3) A car exploded at the busy shopping street Drottninggatan in central Stockholm. Then there was another explosion some distance away and one man died. According to news agency TT, a man had blown himself to death. He carried six interconnected pipe bombs but only one exploded. He also had a backpack full of nails, according to newspaper Aftonbladet.Alarm calls started to pour in to the Emergency Services from concerned residents after the explosions in central Stockholm on Saturday afternoon. But the initial information from the police was very unclear. The initial information described two car explosions, but later it proved to be just about one.
“A car at street Olof Palmes gata has exploded, we got the alarm at two minutes over five o'clock PM. Two minutes later, we received yet another alarm about an explosion from street Bryggargatan some distance away," said Ulf Göranzon, at the Stockholm Police.
A man was found dead at the place of the second explosion . According to news agency TT the police assumes that the man was not damaged in the car explosion, but that he somehow blasted himself.
Shouted in Arabic
Police bomb technicians examined the dead man's bag by using a bomb robot. Radiographs show that it contained a large quantity of nails and an unknown substance which is suspected to be explosives.
At least four ambulances were sent to the scene. Two people were taken to hospital with minor injuries, they had been in the vicinity of the explosions.
According to witnesses, the man shouted something in Arabic before the bomb detonated.
The Swedish news agency TT reports that both them and the Swedish Security Service received a video-film only ten minutes before the explosions.
In the film a man addresses to "Sweden and the Swedish people". He, among else, refers to the Swedish silence on artist Lars Vilks paintings of the muslim prophet Mohammed, the Swedish soldiers in Afghanistan, saying that "now shall your children, daughters and sisters die as our brothers and sisters and children are dying."
Security Service in meeting
The Security Service and the Stockholm Police are in a meeting following the explosions.
There is however still much confusion. The Security Service do not want to make any statement in the current situation. Safety measures have not been increased in Stockholm.