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An eight-year-old boy from Birmingham has been killed after a grenade was thrown into the living room of a flat in Sweden.

Yuusuf Warsame was killed in the blast that happened at around 3am this morning in the Gothenburg suburb of Biskopsgården.

The eight-year-old, a pupil at Nelson Mandela Primary School in Sparkhill, had been visiting relatives with his mother, brother and sister.

His devastated father Abdiwahid Warsame today confirmed his son had died in the grenade attack, which is being treated as murder by Swedish police.

The dad-of-seven said that two other people in Sweden had also suffered minor injuries in the blast.

He said he was too upset to speak further and was awaiting more information this evening from the Swedish authorities.

Yuusuf was born and raised in Birmingham after his parents, both Dutch passport holders, moved to Sparkhill in 2001. His father owns the Tawfiq Halal Meat and Grocery Shop in Whitmore Road.

Details of the grenade attack emerged this morning.

Emergency services were called to a three-storey block in Sweden’s second city after a large explosion rocked the top floor.

At least five children and several adults were inside at the time, said police, and Yuusuf suffered serious injuries. He later died in hospital.

Police in Sweden described the attack as “despicable and abhorrent” and are reportedly looking at links to a previous shooting incident in the city.

Gothenburg police spokesman Thomas Fuxborg, told thelocal.se that the death of the little boy was being investigated as murder.

He added: “Someone was standing outside the apartment and threw a hand grenade through the window, into the living room. The boy was not part of the family registered at the address.

“This is abhorrent. From the outside it is impossible to know who is in the apartment. That it affects an eight-year-old completely innocent boy, is despicable.”

Police have reportedly confirmed that a man convicted over a fatal shooting at a restaurant in the area last year was registered at the address. They are investigating revenge as a potential motive, it was claimed.

“We’ll have to see if the motive is linked to that. Our theory is that it may be,” said Mr Fuxborg.

The Birmingham Mail has contacted the Foreign Office but no statement has yet been released.