After Paris Attacks Italy and Sweden Have High Alerts to Track Threats

Summary: After Nov. 13's Paris attacks Italy and Sweden have high alerts to track threats and to instill citizen vigilance.

Säkerhetspolisen, Solna, Stockholm County, southeastern Sweden: The Local Sweden @TheLocalSweden via Twitter Nov. 18, 2015

After Paris attacks of Nov. 13, 2015, Italy and Sweden have high alerts intended to instill greater vigilance in their citizenry and to track suspects and threats of possible copycat terrorism.

Italy and Sweden, framing northern and southern Europe with their respectively distinctive Italian and Scandinavian peninsulas, are assessing threats within their borders in the aftermath of the Friday the 13th attacks in the French capital. Both countries reveal the seriousness of potential threats by raising threat levels. Italy’s level-two terrorist alert signals the possible deployment of the Army’s special forces for increased security measures. Sweden’s threat level sets a record high for the Nordic nation at level four on a five-level scale. Sweden’s level four is defined as: “The probability that players have the intent and ability to carry is high.”

In Rome, Italy’s Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni says that security forces are working on identification of five people under suspicion of planning possible terrorist attacks. Gentiloni adds that authorities are not suggesting that the threats reference specific attacks.

On Nov. 16, authorities and police in Stockholm are tracking emailed threats directed against the Swedish government and parliament. At a press conference on Nov. 18 in Sweden, Swedish Security Police (Säkerhetspolisen), known as Säpo, announces a nationwide manhunt for an unnamed individual suspected of terrorist plans.

In an email message, entitled “Security Message for U.S. Citizens: Potential for Terrorist Attacks,” sent on Nov. 18, the United States Embassy in Rome, Italy, identifies potential terrorist targets as St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City and the Duomo and La Scala in Milan.

The security message advises: “General venues such as churches, synagogues, restaurants, theatres, and hotels in both cities are possible targets as well.”

At a press conference on Nov. 18, Sweden’s Interior Minister Anders Ygeman notes the unprecedented threat level and reassures Sweden’s populace: “If people are worried I understand that, but we are taking all necessary measures, and it’s important we don’t give into the fear that the terrorists want us to feel.”

Lena Posner Korosi, president of Sweden’s council of Jewish communities, says that discussions with police have influenced the decision to cancel such evening activities as sports training for youth in Gothenburg, Malmo and Stockholm.

The U.S. Embassy alert similarly warns and reassures U.S. citizens living and traveling in Italy: “Terrorist groups may possibly utilize similar methods used in the recent Paris attacks. The Italian authorities are aware of these threats. U.S. citizens are advised to remain vigilant and aware of their surroundings. We encourage U.S. citizens to monitor media and local information sources and factor updated information into personal travel plans and activities.”

After the Paris attacks, both Italy and Sweden have high alerts to keep citizenry safe and to foil terrorist threats.

As noted by Franco Roberti, head of Italy’s ant-mafia and counterterrorism task force, during the week following the Paris attacks: “The danger is real and objective, but it is not concrete or delimited.”

Swedish police in Boliden, northern Sweden, Nov. 19, 2015; photo by Robert Granstrom/TT News Agency/Reuters: CBC World News @CBCWorldNews via Twitter Nov. 19, 2015

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

short-finned pilot whale, Tenerife, Canary Islands: Cayambe, CC BY SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons @ Säkerhetspolisen, Solna, Stockholm County, southeastern Sweden: The Local Sweden @TheLocalSweden via Twitter Nov. 18, 2015, @ https://twitter.com/TheLocalSweden/status/667000863261646848

Swedish police in Boliden, northern Sweden, Nov. 19, 2015; photo by Robert Granstrom/TT News Agency/Reuters: CBC World News @CBCWorldNews via Twitter Nov. 19, 2015, @ https://twitter.com/CBCWorldNews/status/667521168463798276

For further information:

"Alfano: 'Innalzati i livelli  di sicurezza in Italia' Allerta in tutto il territoro nazionale." Sì24 > Politica. Nov. 14, 2015.
Available @ http://www.si24.it/2015/11/14/alfano-elevato-il-livello-di-sicurezza-in-italia-allerta-in-tutto-il-territorio-nazionale/154103/

CBC World News‏ @CBCWorldNews. "Italy and Sweden act on possible threats in wake of Paris attacks." Twitter. Nov. 19, 2015, @ https://twitter.com/CBCWorldNews/status/667521168463798276

The Local Sweden @TheLocalSweden. "Sweden's Security Service confirms it has raised terror threat level to 'high.'" Twitter. Nov. 18, 2015.
Available @ https://twitter.com/TheLocalSweden/status/667000863261646848

Marriner, Derdriu. "Säpo Clears Suspect Arrested at North Sweden Refugee Center." Earth and Space News. Monday, Nov. 30, 2015.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2015/11/sapo-clears-suspect-arrested-at-north.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Säpo Ups Sweden Terror Threat to First-Ever High at 4 on 5-Level Scale." Earth and Space News. Monday, Nov. 23, 2015.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2015/11/sapo-ups-sweden-terror-threat-to-first.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Stefan Lofven: Sweden Is Drastically Reducing Refugee Intakes." Earth and Space News. Monday, Nov. 30, 2015.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2015/11/stefan-lofven-sweden-is-drastically.html

"Sweden on 'high' terror alert for the first time." The Local SE > Sweden terror plot: Sweden's news in English. Nov. 18, 2015. Updated Nov. 19, 2015.
Available @ http://www.thelocal.se/20151118/sweden-reported-to-be-raising-terror-threat

Thomson Reuters. "Italy and Sweden act on possible threats in wake of Paris attacks." CBC News > World. Nov. 29, 2015. Last updated Nov. 30, 2015.
Available @ http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/italy-and-sweden-act-on-possible-threats-in-wake-of-paris-attacks-1.3327006

Williams, Thomas D. "Terrorist Alert: U.S. State Dept Warns Americans Abroad To Steer Clear Of Vatican." Breitbart > Big Government. Nov. 19, 2015.
Available @ http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/11/19/terrorist-alert-u-s-state-dept-warns-americans-abroad-steer-clear-vatican/