Sweden terror suspects 'plotted murder'

Four arrested over terror plot in SwedenSTORY HIGHLIGHTSNEW: A lawyer for one of the men says he denies the chargesThe prosecution asks a judge to extend the detention of four men seized SaturdayThree are from Somalia and one is from IraqThey are accused of plotting an attack in Sweden's second largest cityRELATED TOPICSTerrorismSweden (CNN) -- Swedish prosecutors Tuesday asked a judge to extend the detention of four terror suspects, telling the court they were "planning to commit murder," according to legal documents obtained by CNN.

Three men of Somali origin and one man born in Iraq were seized Saturday in a raid led by a SWAT team and backed by local police in Gothenburg, Sweden, the country's Security Service said.

A court named them Monday as Kulan Mohamud Abel, Mahamud Abdi Aziz, Mahmood Salar Sami and Mohamud Abdi Weli, and tax authorities confirmed their nationalities. All are between the ages of 23 and 26.

Prosecutors had until Tuesday to release them or ask the court to extend their detention.

The four face allegations of plotting an attack this month in Gothenburg, Sweden's second-largest city.

The legal papers filed by the prosecutor Tuesday do not accuse them of terrorism, only plotting murder.

But Karin Rosander, a spokeswoman for the Swedish prosecution authority, said that should not be interpreted to mean they are no longer suspected of planning terror.

Prosecutor Agnetha Hilding Qvarnstrom said the men might try to go ahead with the attack or hinder the investigation if they are released.

They were arrested Saturday night on "probable cause" of plotting attacks, the highest level of suspicion in the Swedish legal system.

They are expected to appear before a judge in Gothenburg on Wednesday, the court told CNN.

Judges usually decide such cases on the spot.

They have not yet been formally charged.

Lawyer Eva Henriksson, who represents Weli, said he denies the allegations.

"He says he has no idea what these accusations are about and that he has no explanation to why he would have been arrested," she said, adding that she had gotten "only very basic and sparse information about what he is accused of."

She criticized the police for taking so long to inform her and her client about the details of the accusations.

Weli, who was born in Somalia and became a Swedish citizen in 2000, got a suspended sentence and fine in 2009 for assault, court records show.

Lawyers for the other three did not immediately respond to CNN requests for comment.

Sami, who was born in Iraq and is now a Swedish citizen, has a long criminal record, court documents show. He has been charged with multiple counts of theft, assault and making threats, among other crimes, and has served several years in prison.

Aziz, who was born in Somalia and has lived in Sweden since 1999, but is not a citizen, has been fine for minor driving offenses.

Abel, a Swedish citizen who was also born in Somalia, has no known criminal record.

Sweden's Security Service refused to say whether the suspects had been under surveillance or if the arrests resulted from a tip-off, saying the details of the ongoing investigation could not be discussed.

"Through these arrests, we have been able to prevent a situation from occurring," Malena Rembe, head analyst at the Swedish Security Service, told CNN affiliate TV4 Sunday.

Swedish media have reported that the four are suspected of having links to the Somali Islamist group al-Shabaab, but prosecutors and police refused to confirm that to CNN.

The Swedish Security Service did warn last year that several Swedes have gone to Somalia for terrorist training.

Sweden is not raising its terror threat level, which is currently at 3, with 5 as the highest.

There is "no reason for the public to be alarmed. ... These arrests have not changed this threat level," Kvarnstrom said.

An art gallery in central Gothenburg was evacuated shortly before midnight local time, police said, but they declined to say whether it was connected to the arrests.

A party was going on at the Roda Sten gallery at the time, with about 500 people attending the inauguration of an arts festival, according to an interview with a witness in Goteborgs Posten, a local newspaper.

Stockholm was hit by a suicide bombing in December. The attack on the capital, Sweden's first suicide bombing, wounded two people in a district full of Christmas shoppers.

Police arrested two people in Gothenburg on suspicion of plotting a bombing in October. They were later released without charge, police said.

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