Main suspect in Stockholm truck attack admits to terrorist crime': lawyer

Stockholm: The suspect of the deadly Stockholm truck attack in which four persons were killed, has confessed to committing a 'terrorist crime' on Tuesday, local media reports said.

Rakhmat Akilov, 39, has admitted to committing a terrorist crime, his lawyer Johan Eriksson told a court in Stockholm.

Meanwhile, the prosecutors have asked the court to remand Akilov in custody.

He is suspected of driving a stolen truck into pedestrians on a busy street in central Stockholm before crashing into a department store. Four people were killed and 15 others injured.

Akilov was arrested several hours after a lorry rammed into a crowd of people in central Stockholm on Friday killing four persons and wounding several others, which is few meters away from Indian Embassy.

Swedish police had earlier claimed that the suspect arrested in connection with the attack on a crowd of people in central Stockholm is from Uzbekistan and known to security services.

Confirming that police have discovered a suspect device inside the lorry which was driven into a Stockholm department store on Friday, National Police Commissioner Dan Eliasson said the technical device was found in the driver's seat of the vehicle.

He added that it was impossible to know what it was but it should not have been there.

Earlier reports said that Swedish Police is suspecting that the man arrested in connection with the attack on a crowd of people in central Stockholm, to be the driver of the truck.

The man in custody, whose appearance matches the description of a person of interest, is being held on "suspicion of terrorist crimes through murder," CNN quoted Karin Rosander, spokeswoman for Sweden's prosecutor's office, as saying.

The Swedish Security Service said that an arrest was made after the attack, which happened just before 3 p.m. local time.

Prime Minister Stefan Lofven said the incident appeared to be a 'terror attack'.

He told reporters during a visit to western Sweden that, "Sweden has been attacked. Everything points to the fact that this is a terrorist attack."

Speaking to ANI, Indian Ambassador to Sweden Monika Mohta, said, "I heard loud noises and saw two people lying on the street."

She also informed that rail services have been temporarily halted and the House of Culture has been shut down.

Another eyewitness, who was present near the spot when the incident took place said, "I was in a nearby store in Drottninggatan Street when I heard women speaking in very high tone."

"When I went outside, I saw some people were screaming when the attack happened. I asked a lady, she said that a truck has hit people and is running people down and then there was a lot of chaos."