Blasts linked to Afghanistan kill one in Stockholm

STOCKHOLM, (Reuters) – Two explosions killed a man  and injured two people in a busy shopping area in Stockholm this evening after an email sent to a news agency threatened  retaliation for Sweden’s military presence in Afghanistan.
Police spokesman Kjell Lindgren said it was possible that  the dead man had blown himself up, but this had not been  confirmed by investigators. Swedish media reported that he had  killed himself with a bomb.
Lindgren said police were also investigating whether other,  unexploded bombs were on the scene.
The Swedish news agency TT said it had received an email  warning 10 minutes before the blasts, which took place either  side of 5 p.m. (1600 GMT), with a threat to Sweden and its  people.
It said the threat was linked to Sweden’s contribution to  the U.S.-led NATO force in Afghanistan, where it has 500  soldiers, mainly in the north.
TT said the warning, which was also sent to Sweden’s  Security Police (SAPO), also referred to caricatures of the  Prophet Mohammad by the Swedish artist Lars Vilks.
The email had sound files in Swedish and Arabic.
“Our actions will speak for themselves, as long as you do  not end your war against Islam and humiliation of the Prophet  and your stupid support for the pig Vilks,” TT quoted a man as  saying in one of the recordings.
Vilks depicted the Prophet with the body of a dog in a  cartoon in 2007. Most Muslims consider any depiction of the  founder of Islam as offensive.
Last March, an American who called herself “JihadJane” was  charged with plotting to kill Vilks and using the Internet to  enlist co-conspirators. In May, arsonists tried to set fire to  Vilks’ house.
Police spokeswoman Petra Sjolander said the first explosion  had been in a car containing gas cylinders. The dead man was  found at the site of the second blast about 300 metres away.
“It looked as if the man had carried something that exploded  in his stomach,” Pascal, a trained medic, was quoted as saying  on the DN.se website. “I removed a Palestinian scarf from his  face to free up the airways, but it was too late ….
“He had no injuries to the face or body in general and the  shops around were not damaged.”
Media reported scenes of panic among teeming Christmas  shoppers, with people fleeing amid smoke and the smell of  explosives.