
© REUTERS/TT News Agency/Jeppe Gustafsson
In a break from the government line which had sought to downplay gang violence, Sweden's Police Commissioner Anders Thornberg admitted there is "no equivalent internationally" to the recent massive increase in bomb attacks.
"I understand that many people are worried about what is happening, there's a sense that the criminals' vendettas are creeping closer to the general public," Thornberg said, during a press conference Wednesday.
Just this past week, a bomb exploded in a Malmo apartment complex, another device blew up on a balcony in Hassleholm and explosives were found outside a shopping mall in Kritsianstad.
The country is struggling to curb the increasing use of explosives by criminal gangs, in addition to an uptick in shootings and other armed assaults.Few of the country's
at least 100 bomb attacks so far this year have caused serious injury, but the fact that attacks using explosives have doubled since 2018 is cause for public concern and political embarrassment. In addition, some 70 unexploded devices are still being investigated.
Comment: Unfortunately, it seems like things will only get worse before they get any better. The bombings are only one facet of the many problems Sweden is facing currently.