Swedish Police: A 39-Year-Old Uzbek Man is the Main Suspect in the Stockholm Attack

Swedish police have identified the arrested individual in connection with the vehicle attack on a sidewalk and store in the capital as a 39-year-old Uzbek man. Police sources are confident that this individual is the driver of the truck that resulted in the deaths of four people. According to a Reuters report, during the attack by the beer truck on the crowd, 15 others were injured, and Swedish authorities consider this incident to be terrorist in nature. In relation to this attack, on Saturday, Dan Eliasson, the head of Sweden's National Police, emphasized in a press conference that 'nothing indicates that we have the wrong person, and on the contrary, our suspicions in the ongoing investigation have been strengthened.' Although information regarding the gender, ethnicity, and age of the arrested individual has been reported, his name has not yet been disclosed. Reuters also quoted the head of Sweden's National Police as saying that the possibility of more individuals being involved in this incident has not been ruled out. Police statements indicate that the arrested individual was known to security officials, but no connection has been found between him and extremist groups. In this regard, Reuters cites the head of Sweden's Security Police, who stated in a press conference on Saturday that 'last year we received information [about this individual], but no connection with extremist circles was observed.' At the same time, it was reported from the head of the Security Police that 'clear similarities' exist between this incident and a recent vehicle attack in London that resulted in the deaths of six pedestrians. Police officials also stated that during the inspection of the truck used in the attack, they found a suspicious device that is not part of the vehicle, but it is still unclear whether this device is some form of improvised bomb. The use of vehicles to carry out attacks and street violence is among the methods that al-Qaeda recommended to its supporters in 2010, and in recent years, the Islamic State (ISIS) has claimed responsibility for several attacks conducted using this method. Although no group has claimed responsibility for the Stockholm attack on Friday, ISIS recently accepted responsibility for the London attack, describing the attacker as one of its soldiers. Two other major attacks that occurred last year in Nice and Berlin, which left 86 and 12 dead respectively, were carried out using the same method, and ISIS also claimed responsibility for these two attacks. Additionally, in recent years, some Palestinians have resorted to such attacks and street violence against Israeli citizens.