The man, called Abu Daoud, is described as one of IS's top recruits. Terrorist Magnus Ranstorp tells TV4 News that he has played a central role in radicalizing Akilov, and that he is the man Akilov swore allegiance to before the terrorist act.
Swedish police have never been able to determine who the man is. He is believed to be a 32-year-old man from Tajikistan, who for two years was believed to be dead. However, after a television team from Turkey sent a message from a prison in Syrian Afrin, the man appears to have been identified.
The editor-in-chief of Radio Free Europe's Tajik department recognized the man, and with the help of previous pictures he identifies him as Abu Daoud.
Today's ETC has also spoken to the man's former mother-in-law in Germany, who also recognizes him in the feature.
- Yes, that's him. Thank God for being arrested. May he be responsible for everything, she says.