In the attack, five people were killed and 14 others wounded. The victims were a British man, a Belgian woman and three Swedes, including an 11-year-old girl.

It was in the early afternoon of Friday April 7, 2017, that Mr Akilov hijacked a beer truck and drove down the pedestrian shopping street that was full of people. He crashed the truck into a department store and tried to ignite an explosive device in an attempt to also end his own life. The device failed, and Mr Akilov fled the scene. He was arrested by Swedish police in a town north of Stockholm the same evening.

Pleaded guilty

Before the attack, Mr Akilov had sworn allegiance to the Islamic State, and he motivated the attack as a terrorist attack in the name of the Islamic State. Rakmat Akilov had said the attack was revenge for Sweden joining a coalition against the Islamic State group.

Mr Akilov, an illegal immigrant from Uzbekistan, had pleaded guilty to five counts of murder and over 100 counts of attempted murder. Life imprisonment was expected, although the defence had pleaded for leniency since Mr Akilov is believed to have cooperated with authorities in the investigation. Life imprisonment in Sweden is minimum 18 years in jail. If the prisoner has behaved well, he can appeal for a fixed termed sentence after 12 years. Since Mr Akilov is a foreign resident, he will be deported after having served his sentence.

source: SVT English