These two incidents, which caused no injuries, come the day after a major attack by Iran against Israel, which for its part promises that Tehran will pay “the price”.
Two explosions occurred overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday in the “immediate vicinity” of the Israeli embassy in Denmark, probably caused by grenade throwing, according to police.
Three Swedes, aged 15 to 20, were arrested in this investigation, said Jens Jespersen, a Copenhagen police official, during a press conference.
Embassy security personnel heard the detonations around 3:20 a.m. (01:20 GMT).
– Security measures for the Jewish community –
No trace of an explosion was visible from outside the security perimeter, which was lifted later in the day.
The Danish intelligence service, PET, is monitoring the situation “closely” and is helping the police in their investigation.
“We are in dialogue with the Israeli Embassy regarding security and are constantly evaluating the extent of security measures already implemented in a number of Jewish community locations,” they wrote in an email sent to the AFP.
It is still too early to say whether there is a link between the explosions and the embassy, police spokesman Jakob Hansen said early Wednesday.
Israel’s ambassador to Denmark, David Akov, said he was “shocked by the appalling incident that occurred near the embassy a few hours ago” in a message on X.
It is located in the affluent suburb of Hellerup, north of Copenhagen, in an area which has many other foreign diplomatic representations.
The arrests of the three young Swedes come as Denmark has strengthened controls with its neighbor after an increase in violence between gangs during the summer, with Danish criminal gangs being suspected of recruiting underage Swedes for score-settling.
In Sweden, the embassy was targeted by gunfire, which caused no injuries, on Tuesday around 6 p.m. (4 p.m. GMT).
“We have made findings of shooting at the Israeli embassy but we do not want to disclose exactly what findings were made because the investigation is ongoing,” Rebecca Landberg, the Israeli embassy’s attaché, told AFP. Stockholm police press.
– Increase in the number of anti-Semitic acts –
Impacts were observed on the building, police said in a press release. An investigation was opened for aggravated violation of weapons legislation, endangering others and illegal threats.
“I take very seriously the shootings which took place at the Israeli embassy in Stockholm last night, as well as the events reported from Copenhagen this morning,” reacted the Swedish Minister of Justice, Gunnar Strömmer, to the TT news agency.
Several incidents have already occurred near the Israeli embassy in Sweden since the start of the war in the Gaza Strip in October 2023.
Swedish intelligence services claimed in late May that Iran was recruiting members of Swedish criminal gangs to carry out “acts of violence” against Israel, which Tehran denied.
The authorities have also recorded an increase in the number of anti-Semitic acts in Sweden since the start of the conflict in the Gaza Strip.
In Germany, scenes of joy were seen in reaction to the Iranian missile attack on Israel. The Minister of the Interior, Nancy Faeser said she was “deeply concerned” by these spontaneous demonstrations and promised a firm response from the police and justice.
