Surprising destination Aussies are warned not to travel to as fears grow of deadly terror attacks

Australian travelers are being warned that terrorist attacks ‘could happen at any time’ in a European destination traditionally considered very safe.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has stated in its travel advisory for the country that Australians should be ‘very careful in Sweden because of the threat of terrorism’.

Sweden has been engulfed in religious and racial tensions, with violence erupting after anti-Islam activists publicly burned and damaged copies of the sacred Islamic text, the Koran.

As a result, the official of Australia SmartTravellor website has placed the Scandinavian country on a level two alert, meaning visitors should be more careful than usual but not reconsider a trip or be told not to go to a destination.

You have to pay close attention in public spaces.

“Since the beginning of 2023, there has been an increase in public burning of the Quran, which has led to a deterioration of the security situation.

The Swedish government has assessed the risk of terrorism as an ‘elevated threat’, equivalent to a threat level of 3 out of 5.

“This rating means that an attack can take place. Take official warnings seriously.’

The website provides even more advice to ‘protect yourself from terrorism’.

This includes avoiding places that could be terrorist targets (such as airports, travel hubs, tourist hotspots, and places of worship), avoiding visiting such places during peak hours, and having “a clear departure plan if there is a security incident.”

Travelers are also advised to ‘think about the level of security around you’, report suspicious items to the police and follow official advice and assessments from the media.

Australia is not alone in classifying Sweden as a more dangerous country for tourists.

The UK Home Office has warned that terrorist attacks “may be indiscriminate, including in places frequented by foreigners”, while the US State Department says terrorist groups “continue to plot possible attacks in Sweden”.

Yemenis take part in a protest against the burning of Islam’s holy book, the Quran, in Sweden and Denmark in July

In the most provocative act against Sweden’s Muslim population, Christian Iraqi refugee Salwan Momik burned and stomped on the Koran outside the Swedish parliament in the capital Stockholm last month.

Mr Momika and fellow activist Salwan Najem committed the same act outside Stockholm’s main mosque and Iraqi embassy as part of their campaign to ban the Quran in Sweden.

In January, far-right Swedish and Danish politician Rasmus Paludan set fire to a Quran outside the Turkish embassy in Sweden.

The Quran burnings have led to Swedish diplomatic missions being attacked in several countries, including Britain, Iran and Malaysia.

The Swedish embassy in Iraq was stormed by protesters on July 19 and a Turkish employee at the Swedish consulate in Turkey was shot and seriously injured earlier this month.

In April, religious and ethnic tensions in Sweden boiled over and the country was beset by violent riots that left more than 100 police officers injured.

Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson told a shocked nation that both Islamism and right-wing extremism had been allowed to fester.

Sweden was beset by riots in April with tensions running high after a series of provocative Quran burnings (protesters throw stones in the Swedish town of Orebro)

‘Segregation has been allowed to go so far that we have parallel societies in Sweden,’ said Ms Andersson.

“We live in the same country, but in completely different realities.”

The number of people born abroad in Sweden has doubled over the past two decades to 2 million, or one-fifth of the population.

Muslims make up about eight percent of Sweden’s 10 million inhabitants.