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Swedish city ‘receiving more tips about extremists’

The Local Sweden
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Swedish city ‘receiving more tips about extremists’
Rosengård in Malmö is a troubled suburb with a reputation for crime and ethnic segregation. Photo: TT

Since the arrest of Osama Krayem, the 23-year-old Rosengård native suspected of having assisted in the suicide bombings in Brussels, Malmö authorities say they have been receiving more tips from members of the public about attempts to recruit for terrorist organizations.

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According to Swedish Television News, Malmö city authorities met with representatives from the police and the Swedish Security Service, Säpo, on Wednesday, to discuss how they would cooperate on the increased number of tips the city is receiving about individuals who attempt to recruit youngsters to fight for extremist groups, such as Isis, abroad.

Stefan Sinteus, the Malmö chief of police, told Swedish Television News that the police, Säpo and the Malmö authorities are working on how to cooperate when they uncover radicalization attempts.

Jonas Hult, head of the unit for safety and security for Malmö,told Swedish Radio News that there had been an uptick in the number of tips received since Osama Krayem was arrested in Brussels.

"Now we have a number of names to investigate,” Hult said.

Last month, Sweden's former national co-ordinator against extremism, Mona Sahlin, criticised Malmö for not doing enough to stop jihadism.

“There are no municipalities which can guarantee that no resident will go to join a terrorist movement, but Malmö belongs to those municipalities that should have an action plan and a strategy,” Sahlin told Swedish public broadcaster SVT.

But a Malmö councillor later hit back at Sahlin.

“I don't understand her criticism,” Andreas Schönström, who represents the centre-left Social Democrat party in the city, told the TT newswire.

“There are very few evidence-based methods for how to reach individuals. We have plenty of knowledge when it comes to working on a society and group level, but we have a hard time reaching the individuals,” he said.

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