Sweden deploys troops over underwater threat

Published: 17 Oct 2014 17:44 GMT+02:00
Updated: 18 Oct 2014 09:30 GMT+02:00

UPDATED: Sweden's military has deployed planes and ships in the Stockholm Archipelago against what it says is a foreign threat in the waters, with the size of the operation unchanged overnight.

Sweden’s Armed Forces say the alert is in response to "foreign underwater activity" in the Stockholm Archipelago.

The operation went on all night and will continue throughout Saturday according to the Armed Forces. 

"This will continue until we consider that we are done," Jesper Tengroth, press officer for the Swedish military, told the TT news agency on Saturday. 

He added; "We are now trying to verify the information we received yesterday, which we assess that comes from trustworthy sources, and see whether it has any substance or not." 

When asked if there were any new observations throughout the course of the night, Tengroth said "Not that I know." He added that the size of the operation remained unchanged. 

Defence Minister Peter Hultqvist said he was receiving regular updates from the Armed Forces, who had informed him the operation, involving around 200 troops, was "necessary and well-founded"

The Local.