As part of its ongoing terror threat assessment work, Swedish military intelligence agency MUST (Militära underrättelse- och säkerhetstjänsten) this spring carried out an assessment of the overall terror threat against the Swedish military.

The assessment led the agency to raise the threat level to “elevated” from “low”.

“The elevation of the threat level for the Armed Forces in Sweden is based on the general development of threats that has taken place in recent years,” the military said in a statement published on its website.

“The development includes increased activity in certain groups that embrace violence where the activity has been deemed to be directed against Sweden and Swedish interests.”

In raising the threat level, the Swedish military brought its terror threat assessment in line with that of Swedish security Säpo, which raised its terror threat level to “elevated” in October 2010.

When Säpo raised its terror threat assessment it came as the result of a concrete threat.

While the specific threat was later neutralized following the arrest of several suspects, Sweden’s overall terror threat level has remained “elevated” at a level three on a five-level scale, based on an assessment from Sweden’s National Centre for Terrorist Threat Assessment (Nationellt centrum för terrorbedömning – NCT).

In making its assessment, MUST has taken into account the attacks in recent years against military targets in Europe, including the murders earlier this year of soldiers in the French city of Toulouse.

TT/The Local/dl

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