STOCKHOLM, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- The blast that damaged 250 apartments in Linkoping, southern Sweden, in early June has been found to be caused by a bomb containing at least 15 kilograms of explosives, Swedish news SVT reported on Friday.
After months of investigation, Swedish police released a report Friday, revealing that the bomb was placed in a cargo bike and contained at least 15 kilograms of explosives, making it the largest homemade explosive recorded in Sweden.
"One must realize that the risk of someone being injured or killed is almost 100 percent," the National Bomb Protection Investigator wrote about the explosion.
On June 7, the bomb exploded outside two five-storey apartment blocks in downtown Linkoping, shattering windows and destroying balconies. Local news sources reported that 20 to 25 people received minor injuries.
The bomb in Linkoping far outweighed the average size of criminal explosives in Sweden, most of which contain approximately 0.5 to 1 kilogram of explosive materials.
According to the National Bomb Protection unit's latest report, criminals in Sweden appear to have greater access to explosives than ever before.
"We have seen a constant increase in cases over the past three years. We handle an ever-rising number of powerful explosions around Sweden and this means that we are under severe strain," Jon Wahlander, operations manager of the police's National Bomb Protection unit, told SVT.
"It is a worrying development, partly on the basis of the large number but also on the basis that they occur in places where people are active and live," Wahlander said. "Fortunately enough, most blasts have occurred during night-time when not too many people are in circulation."
On Thursday night, another blast occurred in Bergsjon, Gothenburg, west Sweden. The blast occurred in a relatively empty square, and no one was hurt. Police said on Friday they now believe that the explosion could be a counter-reaction to a drug seizure made earlier that day.
