Swedish deputy prime minister calls 9/11 attacks 'accidents'

STOCKHOLM (AP) - Swedish Environment Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Asa Romson is being criticized for referring to the 9/11 attacks as "accidents" in a live TV interview.

Romson, of the Green Party, made the comment Tuesday on public television while talking about fellow party member Mehmet Kaplan's resignation as housing minister a day earlier.

Romson said when Kaplan was the chairman of a Muslim youth organization he faced difficult situations "like the Sept. 11 accidents and such."

Asked to explain her choice of words, Romson condemned the attacks and told Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet she meant they brought misfortune to Swedish Muslims.

The word for misfortune and accident is the same in Swedish.

Romson's word choices have raised eyebrows before, including when she compared the Mediterranean migrant crisis to the Auschwitz death camp.