Youth center allegedly recruited jihadists

STOCKHOLM, Sweden, Nov. 11 (UPI) -- A former taxpayer-funded youth recreation center in Stockholm served as a recruiting center for a group of Muslim extremists, Swedish authorities allege.

The Kreativitetshuset center, started by a mosque, received $70,400 in funding from the city during four years before closing in 2008, The Local reported Wednesday.

An official at the center allegedly encouraged local youth to join the Somalia-based Islamist group al-Shabaab by glorifying war and showing them videos of war victims and decapitated heads, Per Johansson, head of the city's department for clubs and associations, told Sveriges Radio in a story published Wednesday.

"It had a big impact on those who weren't strong enough to stand up to it," one unidentified youth told Sveriges Radio.

Al-Shabaab recruited an estimated 20 youths from Sweden in recent years, some of whom were killed in battle in foreign countries, the Swedish security service Sapo said.

No information was available on whether any of those recruits attended the Kreativitetshuset center.