Two Swedish brothers in their 20s, converts to Islam, were arrested by Stockholm’s SÄPO security agency in March on charges of planning attacks on shuls and other Jewish sites on behalf of the Islamic State (ISIS).

The suspects, identified as residents of Tyresö, a suburb southeast of Stockholm, allegedly pledged allegiance to ISIS’s Somali branch. Local media reported that they acquired a weapon at a “basement mosque” near their home.

The older brother, 25, was allegedly tasked with recruiting terrorists to carry out mass killings of “infidels.” In February, he reportedly attempted to travel to Somalia to join ISIS but was stopped in Turkey and sent back after raising suspicions with his one-way ticket.

The younger brother, 23, who worked as a substitute teacher despite evidence of radicalization following his 2023 conversion to Islam, is accused of assisting in recruitment efforts and furthering the group’s aims.

Wiretaps revealed plans to target Jewish places of worship and community centers, with the older brother dismissing the potential deaths of children as “collateral damage,” according to the Dagens Nyheter newspaper.

The case is connected to a broader probe into terror activities in Sweden. In June, an unexploded bomb was found outside the Gothenburg offices of Elbit Systems Sweden, a subsidiary of Israel’s largest defense contractor. The following day, two individuals carrying explosives were arrested at the site. Later, in October, a gunman opened fire at the Elbit office, and separate explosions occurred near Israel’s embassy in Denmark.

Swedish authorities have suggested potential links to Iranian operatives, with SÄPO alleging that Tehran has recruited Swedish criminal gangs to carry out attacks on Israeli targets. Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency has also implicated Iran in orchestrating terrorist acts targeting Israeli missions across Europe, including in Sweden.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)