Suicide bombing in Stockholm, Sweden

[Darwin333]

There are more where that came from. That's what sucks.

This is a symptom of a very large and powerful problem.

I am sure there are but you must admit that a pattern of suckage has emerged when it comes to assholes trying to blow shit up in the West. If this is their competency level then I ain't worried about a damn thing, albeit given the odds I wasn't actually worried before either.

 

[yllus]

This guy doesn't seem to fit the mold of the pathetic losers who usually are the ones who blow themselves up. Used to drink, had friends, had girlfriends, had a wife and child - but got radicalized when he attended university?

Family blames Britain for son's radicalization

The family of the Stockholm suicide bomber blamed Britain Monday night for his transformation from an "ordinary teenager" to an al-Qaeda fanatic.

Taimur Abdulwahab al-Abdaly showed little interest in religion as he was growing up in Sweden, instead channelling his energies into sports and parties. But after he began attending Bedfordshire University in Luton "everything changed," as he became a strict Muslim with increasingly extremist views.

On Saturday, he blew himself up in a street full of Christmas shoppers in Sweden's first suicide attack, after recording a message that promised to kill "your children, daughters, brothers and sisters," partly in revenge for the country's supporting role in the war in Afghanistan.

Abdulwahab's radicalization during his time in Luton once again raised questions over whether British universities are doing enough to stamp out the recruiting of extremists on campus.

In other developments:

- There were fears that Abdulwahab, 28, could have radicalized dozens of students after it was claimed he preached at his old university in 2007, having been banned from his local mosque because of his extremist views.

- MI5 was investigating whether the bomber had links to other Luton-based terrorists, including one of the ringleaders of a 2004 so-called "fertilizer bomb plot."

- Counter-terrorism officers spent all day searching Abdulwahab's semi-detached home in Luton, where he lived with his Romanian-born wife, Mona, and their three children.

- The bomber's wife denied having any prior knowledge of the plot, saying she was "devastated" by her husband's death.

Iraqi-born Abdulwahab, who killed himself the day before his 29th birthday, grew up in the small town of Tranas, south of Stockholm, where his father worked in a factory.

A close friend said the family had been shocked by his transformation from an ordinary teenager into a religious fanatic after he left for Britain.

"There is no doubt that Taimur changed when he went to Britain," said the friend, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "He would drink beer with his friends and go to nightclubs. He didn't care about politics or religion. He even had an Israeli girlfriend. He had many girlfriends, he enjoyed life.

"His parents were even a little worried that he was having too much fun. But then he went to England to study in 2001 and everything changed. When he came back he had grown a beard and he was very serious. He talked about Afghanistan and religion and did not want to hang out with his friends."

Teachers at Holavedskolan College in Thanas remembered him as "a quiet student" who liked basketball.

A former classmate who would only give his name as Khaled said, "We used to hang out together, drink together. They were good times. But when he came back he was a changed man. He told me that something had happened when he was in [Luton]. I am sure of this. Someone had taken advantage of him and had brainwashed him."

Abdulwahab graduated from Bedfordshire University with a physical therapy degree in 2004, and married the same year. He worked in a shop in Luton and began preaching his extremist views at the Luton Islamic Centre, also known as the Al Ghurabaa mosque.

Qadeer Baksh, the chairman of the mosque, said, "Some of the members brought it to my attention that his views were extreme." Mr. Baksh said that in 2007 he challenged Abdulwahab, who "stormed out" and never came back.

He added, "I heard he'd gone to the Islamic Society at the university and continued to preach his extremist views."

Two years ago the Centre for Social Cohesion, a think-tank, warned that radical Islam was increasingly taking hold in British universities. Police and the security services have been concerned for years that British universities have become a breeding ground for terrorists.

As investigators try to discover when and where he was radicalized, suspicion is falling on former members of the banned group al-Muhajiroun.

Anjem Choudary, the former head of al-Muhajiroun in Britain, told The Daily Telegraph that he visits Luton "at least once a week" for meetings but added, "I can't remember all the people I come across. His face and name are not familiar but Luton is a small place."

He said the suicide bombing should be seen as a "severe warning" and "should not come as a surprise."

Prosecutors in Sweden believe his bombs -- which injured two bystanders--detonated prematurely and he was planning to attack a train station or department store.