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Stockholm (AFP) - The Swedish armed forces stepped up a military operation off the coast of Stockholm on Saturday where they were investigating a report of "foreign underwater activity".
More than 200 men, Swedish stealth ships, mineswmaginary pictureeepers and helicopters have been searching an area of the Baltic Sea about 50 kilometres (30 miles) east of the Swedish capital since Friday evening, following a tip-off from what the military called a "credible source".
"I have decided to increase the number of units in the area -- units with specialised sensors," Commander Jonas Wikstroem told reporters at a press conference in Stockholm.
STOCKHOLM (Reuters) – Sweden boosted its military presence in Stockholm’s archipelago on Saturday to scour its waters for “foreign underwater activity” in a mobilization of ships, troops and helicopters unseen since the Cold War.
The search in the Baltic Sea less than 31 miles (50 km) from Stockholm began on Friday and brought back vivid memories of the final years of the Cold War when Sweden repeatedly hunted suspected Soviet submarines along its coast with depth charges.
The operation comes amid increasing tension with Russia among the Nordic and Baltic statesover the Ukraine crisis. Finland last week accused the Russian navy of interfering with a Finnish environmental research vessel in international waters.
The Swedish military has said information about suspicious activity came from a trustworthy source, without providing details, and that more than 200 military personnel were involved in the search.
Swedish daily Svenska Dagbladet, citing unidentified sources with knowledge of the search, said the military operation came after a radio transmission in Russian on an emergency frequency.
Further encrypted radio traffic from a point in the archipelago and the enclave of Kaliningrad, home to the Russian Baltic fleet’s headquarters, was intercepted on Friday evening after the Swedish search started, the newspaper said.
The search in the Baltic Sea less than 31 miles (50 km) from Stockholm began on Friday and brought back vivid memories of the final years of the Cold War when Sweden repeatedly hunted suspected Soviet submarines along its coast with depth charges.
This information has been confirmed by several persons with knowledge about the ongoing search operation, altough they can't confirm that there is a damaged submarine in Swedish waters.