Baby strollers were “flying through the air”, one Swedish broadcaster reported, as the vehicle aimed at pedestrians, including children before hitting the window of a department store.
“It swerved from side to side. It didn’t look out of control, it was trying to hit people,” a second witness, Glen Foran, an Australian tourist, told Reuters. “It hit people, it was terrible. It hit a pram with a kid in it, demolished it.”
Swedish police said on Saturday morning that they believe a 39-year-old suspect was behind the terror attack which left four dead and 15 injured, but declined to comment on reports that the suspect was from Uzbekistan. The unnamed suspect reportedly confessed to the attack after being detained in Marsta.
Islam is by far the dominant religion in Uzbekistan, as Muslims constitute 90 percent of the population.
According to reports, The Telegraph said, he had posted jihadist propaganda on his Facebook page and had images of people injured in the explosion at the Boston marathon in April 2013.
Last year, the Iraqi government warned Sweden that ISIS may have been plotting to attack civilian targets in Stockholm, NBC News reported. Sweden has produced more ISIS fighters per capita than almost any other European nation, the International Center for the Study of Radicalization and Political Violence reported last year.
In April 2016, newspaper Expressen reported: “Swedish security service has received information from Iraqi security officials that seven to eight ISIS terrorists have entered Sweden to carry out acts of terror in Stockholm. According to the information, the terrorists are planning to attack civilian targets in the capital.”
Police also discovered explosives in the truck used in the attack in Stockholm, Swedish television said on Saturday citing multiple unnamed police sources. Stockholm was put on lockdown, with the metro and mainline trains being shut down.
Eight victims, including children, remain in hospital, the Swedish media said. Three of the victims died at the scene, a report said, while one died after arriving at the hospital.
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