A mosque in southeastern Sweden has been destroyed by a fire in what community members suspect was an arson attack.
Anas Deneche, the communications director of the Great Mosque in the city of Eskilstuna, told public broadcaster Sveriges Radio that he believed Monday's blaze was deliberately caused.
He said that police records showed the mosque had faced threats for over a year and had previously been subjected to attacks.
Deneche said his mother heard a loud noise before the fire broke out. "She heard an explosion and all of a sudden things start to burn," he said.
Police said on Tuesday that it had no suspects, but were investigating the incident as suspected aggravated arson.
"Yet again terror strikes against a mosque in Sweden," wrote Mikail Yuksel, a Swedish parliamentarian, on X, formerly known as Twitter.
"This is another brutal attack on human rights, and to democracy and freedom in the country formally known as a humanitarian super power."
In recent years, there have been several arson attacks on Swedish mosques. A spate of such attacks in 2014 targeted several cities, including Eskilstuna.