An object believed to be an explosive device was found inside the grounds of the Israeli Embassy in Stockholm on Wednesday and destroyed by the Swedish national bomb squad, in an incident labeled as “an attempted terror attack” by Israel’s ambassador.
Embassy staff had notified police of the object, triggering a large response from law enforcement, police said.
The device was later detonated in a controlled manner, a police spokesperson told the broadcaster TV4.
Police declined to give any detail on the nature of the object, or of how it had got into the embassy grounds.
The daily Aftonbladet reported, citing unnamed sources, that the object was believed to be a hand grenade that was thrown over the embassy fence, landing close to the building.
The embassy building was cordoned off at a distance of about 100 meters (yards).
Israel’s Ambassador to Sweden Ziv Nevo Kulman said in a statement that the embassy was “subjected to an attempted terror attack.”
“We thank the authorities for their swift response. We will not be intimidated by terror,” he added.
Israelis around the globe have been cautioned to be on alert since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war, which has fueled intensified anti-Israel sentiment in parts of the world.
In December, an explosion occurred near the Israeli embassy in New Delhi, causing no injuries. Indian news networks said that a letter addressed to the Israeli ambassador, Naor Gilon, had been found close to the scene of the explosion.
Reports said the typed and “abusive” letter addressed to Gilon had been signed by “Sir Allah Resistance,” mentioned Israel’s military offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, and included the word “revenge.”
Earlier this month, intelligence agencies said Hamas runs a network of operatives in Europe commanded by terror leaders in Lebanon working to launch attacks on Israeli and Jewish targets abroad.
Several of the group’s Lebanon-based commanders, including Saleh al-Arouri and Khalil Harraz, were killed in airstrikes earlier this month attributed to Israel, as Jerusalem pursues Hamas in Gaza and beyond.
Hamas cells in Denmark, Germany, and Holland were arrested in December on suspicion of plotting to attack Jewish targets in Europe.