* Police report released in wake of Stockholm bombing
* Only a few people directly involved in violence--report
(Updates with parliament approving Afghanistan presence)
STOCKHOLM, Dec 15 (Reuters) - Almost 200 people in Sweden support Islamist violence and more must be done to prevent residents becoming radicalised in the country, scene of a bombing last weekend, a police report said on Wednesday.
A man originally from the Middle East, who came to Sweden as a youth, blew himself up in Stockholm on Saturday when his bomb went off prematurely, avoiding what police believe would have been a much more devastating attack.
"A relatively limited number of people are involved in violent Islamic extremism. The active group whose actions are detailed in the report includes slightly less than 200 people," the report by the Security Police said.
Their activities ranged from recruiting and radicalising others, to financing violence, joining extremist groups and ultimately planning or carrying out attacks. However, the report said that only a few people could be classed in the last group.
The report, which was commissioned before the Stockholm attack, based its findings on 2009 data but the Security Police said it was still valid.
The main way to deal with radicalism was "an increased focus on preventative measures" such as finding ways to integrate people better by helping them to find jobs or education.
Activists in Sweden had contacts mostly with groups in Somalia, al Qaeda-related groups in the Afghanistan and Pakistan border area, and in Iraq and North Africa, the report said.
A Swedish court convicted two men last Friday of conspiracy for planning a suicide bomb attack in Somalia.
Saturday's attack was by Taymour Abdulwahab, who was brought up in a small southern Swedish town and moved to Britain to study in 2001. A message thought to be from Abdulwahab, and sent to a news agency before the attack, criticised Sweden for having troops in Afghanistan.
On the same day as the report, the Swedish parliament approved an extension of Sweden's troop presence in Afghanistan through next year. Political backing for the decision had been secured some time before.
"Sweden will put an armed force of a maximum of 855 people at the disposal of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan until the end of 2011," parliament announced.
Abdulwahab first blew up his car and then headed off wearing a bomb belt, intent on bigger targets and more destruction. He died on a sidestreet when one of the bombs went off prematurely.
Britain admitted on Wednesday lapses in its attempts to tackle Islamist militancy after the Swedish attack revived old charges that the UK is overly tolerant of the threat. [ID:nMAC545600] (Reporting by Patrick Lannin and Bjorn Rundstrom; editing by Mark Heinrich)
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
