Denmark terrorism plot thwarted with arrest of five suspected militants, authorities say

Source: LA TIMES

The reported target is the Copenhagen newspaper that published cartoons in 2005 lampooning the prophet Muhammad. Suspects described as 'militant Islamists' are arrested in Sweden and Denmark.

Reporting from Beirut —

Scandinavian authorities thwarted what they describe as a terrorist attack in Denmark, arresting five suspected militants Wednesday.

Danish state-run media quoted a security official as saying the militants' target was the Copenhagen offices of Jyllands Posten, the newspaper that in 2005 published cartoons lampooning the prophet Muhammad, the seminal figure in the Islamic religion, prompting an international uproar.

Jakob Scharf, head of Danish intelligence, was quoted by the state-owned Danish broadcaster as saying that the aim of the alleged militants was "to kill as many people as possible."

He reportedly described them as "militant Islamists" with "connections to international terror networks."

A security official in the Swedish capital, Stockholm, told The Times that four of those arrested resided in Sweden and one in Denmark, and that three were Swedish nationals. One of the suspects was a Tunisian national, said Petter Liljeblad, spokesman for the Swedish security service SAPO. Some of them traveled to Denmark on Monday night, according to the Danish media account.

Danish media described the suspects arrested in Denmark as: a 44-year-old Tunisian national; a 29-year-old Lebanese-born Swedish national; a 30-year-old Swedish citizen of unknown ancestry; and a 26-year-old Iraqi seeking asylum in Denmark.

A 37-year-old Swedish citizen of Tunisian origin was also arrested in Stockholm.

A statement released by Swedish security forces said that police had yet to find any connection between the alleged newspaper plot and a failed Dec. 11 Stockholm suicide bombing that injured two bystanders and killed the attacker, an Iraqi immigrant to Sweden.

daragahi@latimes.com

Daragahi is a Times staff writer. Sandels is a special correspondent.