Swedish school mass killing victims included Syrians and a Bosnian
Feb. 6 (UPI) -- Syrian and Bosnian embassies confirmed Thursday that people from their countries were among the 10 people killed in Sweden's Tuesday Risbergska School shooting.
Syria's Stockholm Embassy confirmed on its Facebook page that its citizens were among the dead as it condemned the attack and extended condolences to families of the victims.
Bosnia's Foreign Ministry confirmed on X that a Bosnian citizen is among the dead.
According to police lead investigator Anna Bergqvist people from several countries, different genders and different ages were among those killed.
Responding to reporter questions, she said police are looking into whether the attack was motivated by racism.
Swedish media Wednesday identified Syrian orthodox Christian Salim Iskef, 29, as one of the victims.
Police have not released the identities and nationalities of all the victims. Nor have they yet officially designated Rickard Andersson as the mass murder suspect, although investigators believe he did it.
Bergqvist said the suspected mass shooter killed himself.
Bosnian Ambassador to Sweden Bojan Sosic told the BBC, "I find it odd, to say the least, that the police chose to withhold information that pertains to foreign citizens, from respective embassies."
The Risbergska school where the shooting happened offers Swedish classes for immigrants in addition to adult education for people who didn't graduate school.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
43 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Bilderberg group meets in Sweden amid US-Europe tensions
STOCKHOLM (Reuters) -The annual Bilderberg Meeting kicks off in Sweden on Thursday, providing a private forum for discussion at a time when President Donald Trump has upended security and economic ties between the U.S. and Europe. The high-level networking event was formed in 1954 to foster dialogue between the U.S. and Europe. It does not invite media and delegates rarely speak about what has been discussed, triggering numerous conspiracy theories about their aims. NATO General Secretary Mark Rutte, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and Christopher Donahue, Commander of the U.S. Army Europe and Africa are among those on this year's delegate list, published by the organisers just ahead of the meeting. Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson will give a speech "on Sweden's and the EU's competitiveness and Sweden's support for Ukraine," his spokesperson told Reuters. Transatlantic relations top the agenda, with Ukraine, critical raw materials and AI also on the list, the organisers who also publish the names of the participants, said. Other than that, information is scarce. The organisers say the secrecy is to allow participants to be able to speak freely in an environment of trust. "There is no desired outcome, there is no closing statement, there are no resolutions proposed or votes taken, and the Meeting does not support any political party or viewpoint," the official website says. How much impact groups like Bilderberg actually have is hard to judge, according to Christina Garsten, professor at the Swedish Collegium for Advanced Study, who studies transnational think tanks. They aim to shape the broad political and corporate agenda. But if they are seen as having too much influence, they can be accused of being anti-democratic. "It's there that conspiracy theories can flower," she said. She dismissed the belief held by some that groups like Bilderberg make up a shadowy world government. "I think it's very much exaggerated," she said.
Yahoo
44 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Israel set to deport eight activists, including French MEP, over Gaza boat
JERUSALEM (Reuters) -Eight pro-Palestinian activists including a French member of the European Parliament will soon be forcibly deported from Israel, three days after the Israeli navy prevented them from sailing into Gaza, their legal advisers said on Thursday. Four other members of the 12-strong crew aboard the charity vessel, including Swedish campaigner Greta Thunberg, agreed to leave Israel voluntarily on Tuesday, hours after the navy had brought them ashore. The other eight crew refused to leave, accusing Israel of acting illegally, and have been held in a detention centre while an Israeli court reviewed their legal status. However, Israeli rights group Adalah, which has provided the activists with legal assistance, said the group had lost their battle against repatriation. French MEP Rima Hassan and five other activists have been taken to Tel Aviv airport and will be flown out of the country in the next 24 hours, Adalah said in a statement. The remaining two crew members will be expelled on Friday afternoon. "Their continued detention and forced deportation are unlawful and a part of Israel's ongoing violations of international law," Adalah said in a statement. There was no immediate confirmation from Israel which earlier this week dismissed the Gaza-bound sea mission as a pro-Hamas publicity stunt. "Greta and her friends brought in a tiny amount of aid on their celebrity yacht. It did not help the people of Gaza. This was nothing but a ridiculous gimmick," Foreign Minister Gideon Saar told reporters on Tuesday. Israel has imposed a naval blockade on Gaza since Hamas took control of the coastal enclave in 2007. It tightened its grip significantly after Hamas-led militants rampaged through southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing more than 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, by Israeli tallies. Israel's retaliatory offensive against Hamas has since killed nearly 55,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health officials, and reduced much of the territory to a wasteland.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
5 things to know for June 12: Nationwide protests, Gaza, Immigration, Vaccines, Harvey Weinstein
Syria has issued a conservative dress code for women who want to go swimming or just hang out by the water. From now on, women must wear burkinis (swimwear that covers their full body) at public beaches and pools as well as cover-ups or robes while en route. The new regulations, which were signed by interim Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa, reflect the influence of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the Islamist coalition now leading the country's transitional government. It's unclear what the repercussions will be for breaking the rules. Here's what else you need to know to Get Up to Speed and On with Your Day. Demonstrations against the Trump administration's immigration crackdown have continued to spread across the US. On Wednesday, police in New York City, Los Angeles, Seattle and Spokane, Washington, arrested dozens of anti-ICE protesters. An overnight curfew was enacted for a second night in downtown LA to 'stop bad actors who are taking advantage of the President's chaotic escalation,' LA Mayor Karen Bass wrote on X. A similar curfew was also announced in Spokane. More than 1,800 'No Kings' events to protest the administration's actions are scheduled to take place on Saturday, the same day as President Donald Trump's military parade in Washington, DC. Ahead of that parade, Trump told reporters that any protesters should be prepared to be met with a show of force. A bus carrying more than two dozen workers from the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a controversial US and Israeli-backed aid initiative, was attacked late Wednesday. 'We are still gathering facts, but what we know is devastating: there are at least five fatalities, multiple injuries, and fear that some of our team members may have been taken hostage,' the GHF said in a statement. The aid group accused Hamas of carrying out the assault; the militant group has not yet responded to the allegations. The GHF was established amid Israeli accusations that Hamas is stealing aid in Gaza and profiting off its sale but the organization has been controversial from the get-go and criticized by multiple international aid agencies. Also on Wednesday night, the Israel Defense Forces and Shin Bet security agency announced the recovery of two deceased hostages during a military operation. A federal judge has granted Mahmoud Khalil's habeas corpus petition and blocked the Trump administration from continuing to detain the former Columbia University graduate student. During the 2024 demonstrations on campus, Khalil served as a liaison between students protesting the treatment of Palestinians in Gaza and school administrators. He was one of the first in a series of high-profile arrests of pro-Palestinian student activists caught up in the Trump administration's effort to crack down on antisemitism on college campuses and his detention sparked protests across the US. In the three months he was imprisoned in Louisiana, Khalil missed his own graduation and the birth of his first son. In other immigration news, Khaby Lame, the world's most popular TikTok personality and a goodwill ambassador for UNICEF, has left the US after being detained at the airport by immigration agents in Las Vegas for allegedly overstaying his visa. Earlier this week, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. dismissed the entire panel of vaccine advisers that guides the CDC on the vaccine schedule and required coverage of immunizations. On Wednesday, he appointed eight new members, including several prominent critics of the government's Covid-19 response. Kennedy's overhaul of the panel has drawn rebukes from physicians, nurses, former health officials and the American Medical Association. The AMA even adopted a resolution calling for Kennedy to reverse his decision to remove the previous panel members. 'With an ongoing measles outbreak and routine child vaccination rates declining, this move will further fuel the spread of vaccine-preventable illnesses,' AMA President Dr. Bruce Scott said in a statement. A jury in New York convicted former movie studio boss Harvey Weinstein of forcibly subjecting a woman to a criminal sex act in 2006. Although Weinstein, 73, was acquitted of another sex crime, jurors will continue deliberating today on a third charge that he allegedly raped another woman in 2013. In 2020, Weinstein was convicted of sex crimes and sentenced to 23 years in prison in New York; however, in 2024, the state's highest court awarded him a new trial. Weinstein was also convicted of sex crimes in 2022 and sentenced to prison in California; he is currently appealing that case. Air India flight to London crashes with 242 on boardAn Air India flight bound for London crashed shortly after taking off from an airport in India's western city of Ahmedabad. There were 242 passengers and crew members on board. The plane was a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, according to Flightradar24. Character actor Harris Yulin dead at 87The Emmy-nominated stage and screen actor appeared in the TV shows 'Frasier' and 'Ozark,' on Broadway and in numerous movies, including 'Scarface' and 'Ghostbusters II.' Former MTV VJ Ananda Lewis dead at 52Lewis was a fixture on MTV's programming in the 1990s and also had her own talk show. She shared her cancer journey with CNN last year. Thieves break into Macklemore's homeSeattle police are investigating the incident at the rapper's house. A nanny was attacked during the burglary but three children in the house were reportedly unharmed. Surprise! That's some unique studying 6,000-year-old skeletons found in the Eastern Colombian Andes made an interesting discovery: the subjects belonged to a previously unknown population. 'I'm missing you like mad'A love letter written by John Lennon to his first wife will be up for auction next month. The four-page missive is expected to fetch more than $50,000. $7 millionThat's at least how much the Department of Education is paying per month to employees who were forced to go on leave. 'We want peace for Ukraine. Despite weeks of diplomatic attempts, despite (Ukraine's) President (Volodymyr) Zelensky's offer of an unconditional ceasefire, Russia continues to bring death and destruction to Ukraine. Russia's goal is not peace, it is to impose the rule of might.' — European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, after the European Union announced a new package of sanctions against Russia. Check your local forecast here>>> 'There's a cost to grace''Lights Out: Nat 'King' Cole,' a new play starring Dulé Hill ('The West Wing,' 'The Wonder Years'), explores the trials and triumphs of the late crooner.
