Clear risks that Sweden's security situation could get worse, Swedish security police says

PHOTO CAPTION: A Swedish Amphibious Raider navigates to a reconnaissance position during a simulated operation on Camp Pendleton, California, Aug. 30, 2023. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. David Cordova via U.S. Defense Visual Information Distribution Service)

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) -     The security situation in Sweden is serious and there are clear risks that it can get worse, Sweden's security police (SAPO) said on Tuesday in an annual report into threats facing the country.

Foreign powers are operating in ways that threaten security and they are using hybrid activities to destabilise Sweden and Europe, the report said.

Swedish authorities have fretted in recent years about increasing threats from both foreign powers like Russia, China and Iran and extremists groups engaging in actions ranging from violent attacks and hybrid warfare to corporate espionage.    

"There is a tangible risk that the security situation can deteriorate further and that can occur in a way that is hard to predict," Charlotte von Essen, the head of the security police, said in a statement. 

 (Reporting by Simon Johnson, editing by Louise Rasmussen and Stine Jacobsen)