Sweden examining 'Islamic State threat' to Stockholm

Swedish media say Iraqi authorities alerted Swedish intelligence to a threat to the capital, Stockholm

Swedish intelligence service Sapo is investigating a possible terror threat to the capital, Stockholm, local media say.

Iraqi authorities had informed Sweden that seven or eight militants from the so-called Islamic State group had travelled to Sweden, newspapers reported.

A Sapo spokesman would not confirm the nature of the information received.

But he told Swedish Radio the information could not be "dismissed".

The same spokesman, Simon Bynert, told another news outlet that Sapo was also sharing information with the national police service "to see if they in turn can implement measures that fall under their remit".

Police and national agencies are on stand-by, though Sapo has cautioned that it receives this type of information "quite often".

The national terror threat level is unchanged at three, or "elevated", on a five-point scale.

Government officials would not comment.

Stockholm is the largest city in the Nordic countries, with a population of some 900,000.