Taliban fighters use a rocket launcher to blow up a Swedish flag after the Koran burning in Stockholm
A video circulating on social media shows a group of men, allegedly Taliban militants in Kandahar, southern Afghanistan, shooting at a Swedish flag and then blowing it up.
At the end of January, the Scandinavian country sparked anger in the Islamic world when far-right activist Rasmus Paludan burned a copy of the Quran outside the Turkish embassy in Stockholm after receiving permission from authorities.
The video shows a group in Afghanistan standing with a flag as one of them fires a rifle into the distance.
Next, a line of men is seen, with one of the members firing a rocket launcher, causing the Swedish flag tied to the side of a building to explode.
A video circulating on social media shows a group of men, allegedly Taliban militants in Kandahar, southern Afghanistan, shooting at a Swedish flag and then blowing it up
The group members then walk over to them, one of them holds up the damaged flag and points a gun at it.
They walk away with the flag in their hand and saluting with their guns.
On January 27, thousands of Afghans staged protests to express their anger at the Quran burning in Sweden.
Kabul residents took part in demonstrations in various parts of the city, police spokesman Khalid Zadran said.
In northern Badakshan province, a provincial government spokesman said thousands had gathered to protest after Friday prayers.
Earlier that week, the Taliban-led Afghan Foreign Ministry had called on the Swedish government to punish the person and prevent similar incidents.
A line of men is seen, with one of the members firing a rocket launcher, causing the Swedish flag tied to the side of a building to explode
Paludan, a convicted extremist, who holds both Danish and Swedish nationality, repeated the protest at a mosque in Copenhagen, in front of a Turkish embassy.
He promised to do this every day until Sweden is admitted to NATO.
The provocative demonstration has jeopardized Sweden’s bid to join the security organization after Turkey postponed planned accession negotiations.
The decision to allow the burning of the Koran in Stockholm came amid strained relations between Sweden and Turkey, following the latter’s decision to push back Sweden’s entry into NATO.
Sweden and Finland have been seeking NATO membership since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but their bids must be approved by all 30 NATO member states.
The two Scandinavian countries are still dependent on votes from Turkey and Hungary, which Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has promised to cast in 2023.
The group members walk towards the flag, one of them holds up the damaged item and points a gun at it. They walk away with the flag in their hand and saluting with their guns
Ahead of the Stockholm protest, Paludan said he wanted to “mark some freedom of expression” after the hanging of an effigy of Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan at City Hall provoked a strong reaction in Turkey.
Riots broke out in Malmö last April after Paludan visited Sweden ahead of elections, intending to burn the Quran to rally support for his movement, and earlier in August 2020 when activists burned the Quran after Paludan was arrested.
Turkish officials said the effigy put up by pro-Kurdish activists ahead of the Stockholm incident violated a previously signed agreement under which Sweden and Finland would crack down on Kurdish militants as both seek Turkish approval for NATO membership .
Sweden is home to a large number of Kurds, many of whom fled Turkish persecution and subsequent Middle East crises in the late 1980s.
Rasmus Paludan is pictured burning the Koran outside the Turkish embassy in Stockholm
Turkish Foreign Minister Melvut Cavusoglu said Sweden’s inaction over the effigy was “absurd” and that Sweden should not try to fool Turkey by calling the act “free speech.”
The country has stepped up pressure on Sweden to demand that 130 so-called ‘terrorists’ be extradited to Turkey before the Turkish parliament approves NATO bids.
The burning of the Quran in Stockholm to refute Turkey, which is a Muslim-majority country, also received a strong reaction.
Muslims consider the Qur’an to be the holy word of God and consider any deliberate damage or disrespect to it as highly offensive.
Turkey’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement criticizing the act, which happened despite “repeated warnings”.
“Allowing this anti-Islam act, which targets Muslims and offends our sacred values, under the guise of ‘freedom of expression’ is completely unacceptable,” the statement said.