Apparent suicide attack in Stockholm

STOCKHOLM - An apparent suicide attacker blew himself up in central Stockholm Saturday, local media reported.

The man allegedly sent a threatening e-mail addressed to news agency TT minutes prior to the attack. The message said it was time for the Swedes to die “like our brothers and sisters” and made reference to the country’s involvement in Afghanistan and caricatures of the prophet Mohammed published in Sweden.

Foreign Minister Carl Bildt dubbed the incident an attempted terrorist attack.

“Most worrying attempt at terrorist attack in crowded part of central Stockholm,” he wrote on Twitter. “Failed - but could have been truly catastrophic.”

Unconfirmed reports said police found multiple explosive charges on the man, who was killed in the explosion. The Aftonbladet newspaper said the man apparently had the explosives in a backpack, but police would not confirm the reports.

It was unclear what connection, the suicide had with a separate car explosion in the central shopping area of the Swedish capital. The car explosion occurred at the intersection of Drottninggatan and Olof Palmes Gata roads and then a second blast went off in the nearby Bryggergatan, where the man’s body was discovered.

Two others were injured in the blasts, the BBC reported.