Five Arrested in Terrorist Plot in Denmark and Sweden (Video)

Danish and Swedish security officials halted an impending terrorist attack on Wednesday.

Jakob Scharf, head of the Danish Security and Intelligence Service Erik Refner/AFP/Getty Images

Terrorist Suspects Face Trials in Denmark and Sweden
(NTD Television)

Danish and Swedish security officials halted an impending terrorist attack on Wednesday with the arrest of five men who were believed to be planning to “kill as many people as possible” in an office of the Copenhagen-based newspaper that published cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad.

The Danish Security and Intelligence Service (PET) said that they had arrested four persons in the Copenhagen suburbs of Herlev and Greve, seizing weapons, a silencer, and live ammunition.

PET also said that three of those arrested were residents of Sweden that entered Denmark during the nights of Dec. 28 and 29. The fourth, a 26-year-old Iraqi living in Denmark, is currently seeking asylum status.

Meanwhile, Swedish counterparts arrested the fifth, a 37-year-old man living in Sweden and originally from Tunisia.

Danish security officials stated that the five suspects had planned an attack on the building of the Jyllands-Posten daily newspaper to “kill as many people as possible” there. They also added that the attack was to be launched within the next few days.

“Allegedly, several of the suspects are to be considered militant Islamists with relations to international terror networks,” head of the Danish Security and Intelligence Service, Jakob Scharf, said in a statement.

“The arrests underline the seriousness of the terror threat directed against Denmark and particularly against institutions and individuals related to the cartoon case,” Scharf pointed out.

The arrested will face a court hearing on Thursday for charges of attempting to carry out a terrorist attack.