Sweden lorry attack claims fifth victim

The lorry sped down a street full of shoppers and crashed into a department store

A fifth person has died following a lorry attack at a shopping area in Stockholm, according to authorities.

The victim was Marie Kide, 66, a local politician in the town of Trollhattan, western Sweden, her party said in a statement.

Rakhmat Akilov, a 39-year-old Uzbek national, has confessed to a "terrorist crime" over the attack on 7 April.

Authorities have not named a motive and no extremist group has claimed responsibility.

"It is with sorrow that I have received the message that another person died," Prime Minister Stefan Lofven told local news agency TT.

• Rakhmat Akilov: Who is the truck attack suspect?

• Eyewitnesses: Lorry was 'trying to hit people'

Police released this CCTV image of Rakhmat Akilov following the attack

"The aim of this kind of attack is to spread terror and hatred. We will do everything in our power so people can be safe in Sweden."

The other victims were a Swedish girl, 11, a Belgian woman, 31, a Swedish woman, 69, and British man Chris Bevington, 41.

'Huge void'

Ms Kide was a representative of the Green Party in the Trollhattan city council.

"Marie leaves a huge void behind her, she was a woman with a big heart and courage in her convictions," party spokeswoman Esther O'Hara said.

Earlier this month, Uzbekistan said it had warned the West that Rakhmat Akilov had been recruited by so-called Islamic State (IS) after leaving Uzbekistan in 2014.

The Swedish security service said it could neither confirm nor deny receiving such information from Uzbekistan.

Rakhmat Akilov left Uzbekistan for Sweden in 2014. He sought residency there, but in December 2016 he was told that he had four weeks to leave the country, police said.

He disappeared and, in February, was officially put on a wanted list.

The suspect was arrested just hours after the attack on one of Stockholm's busiest streets, Drottninggatan.