Sweden Has Seen Over 80 Explosions and Bombings in 2021

From the start of the year until the end of November, Sweden has seen over 80 explosions take place in various parts of the country: a slight decrease from 2020 but a number far greater than any of its neighbours.

Marie Borgh, section manager at Sweden’s National Bomb Protection, a division of the Swedish police, stated that the 80 or so bombings and explosions are more often than not linked to gang crime and gun violence, a substantial problem in Sweden in its own right.

The number of bombings is less than previous years, but remains high despite efforts last year to establish a joint national bomb centre between the Swedish security police Sapo, the National Bomb Protection and the Swedish Armed Forces, broadcaster SVT reports. The fall this year may be linked to a general reduction in some crimes crime seen across Europe associated with coronavirus lockdowns, but that is unproven.

According to Ms Borgh, there have been some links between different bombings. “Today we can clearly see that there are several bomb cases that belong together, that the bombs were built by the same person. One of our main focuses is to try to find those people and thus stay one step ahead,” she said.

Borgh told SVT that the creation of the bomb centre has led to prosecutions against those making bombs and carrying out bombings but noted the overall bombing trend could not be solved within the period of just a year.

However, few bombings in Sweden are ever solved, with a report from 2020 revealing that despite there being an estimated 257 explosions in 2019, just seven people were convicted in connection to bombings that year.

Borgh commented at the time on the difficulty in prosecuting would-be bombers, saying the main reason for a lack of convictions was the nature of the crime itself.

“The technical evidence is difficult when it is blown up. Most of it is blown away in connection with the detonation. Often, someone may order this job based on a conflict that exists. A bomb builder will build the bomb and someone else will then carry it out,” she said.

Borgh also stated that more and more bombings are occurring in residential areas, which can also have an impact on general members of the public uninvolved in criminal conflicts.

Follow Chris Tomlinson on Twitter at @TomlinsonCJ or email at ctomlinson(at)breitbart.com