Bomb rocks government offices in Oslo, two said dead

Bomb rocks government offices in Oslo, two said dead

ReutersBy Walter Gibbs and Alister Doyle | Reuters – 4 mins 19 secs ago



OSLO, July 22 (Reuters) - A massive bomb shattered Norway's main government building in Oslo Friday, killing two people police were quoted as saying by local news agency NTB.

There was no claim of responsibility, though NATO member Norway has been the target of threats, if not bombs, before, notably over its involvement in conflicts in Afghanistan and Libya. Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg was safe, NTB said.

NRK radio said at least two people were killed in an attack that may have brought global political violence to the quiet Scandinavian city.

"It exploded -- it must have been a bomb. People ran in panic and ran. I counted at least 10 injured people," said bystander Kjersti Vedun, who was leaving the area.

A Reuters reporter at the scene said the blast scattered debris across the streets and shook the entire city center around 3:30 p.m. (9:30 a.m. EDT). He saw eight people injured, one covered in a sheet and apparently dead.

"So far I can confirm that we have received seven people at Oslo University Hospital," a press officer at the clinic said.

"I don't know how seriously wounded they are."

The explosion blew out most of the windows of the 17-storey central government building, cast a huge pall of smoke over the city and scattered shards of metal and other debris for hundreds of meters.

Nearby ministries were also hit, including the oil ministry, which was on fire. Heavy debris littered the streets.

John Drake, senior risk consultant, at London-based consultancy AKE said: "It may not be too dissimilar to the terrorist attack in Stockholm in December which saw a car bomb and secondary explosion shortly after in the downtown area.

"That attack was later claimed as reprisal for Sweden's contribution to the efforts in Afghanistan."

The Reuters correspondent said the streets had been fairly quiet in mid-afternoon on a Friday in high summer, when many Oslo residents take vacation or leave for weekend breaks.

The tangled wreckage of a car was outside one building, as well as the damage to the buildings, appeared consistent to witnesses with that from car bombs.

THREATS

NATO member Norway has sometimes in the past been threatened by leaders of al Qaeda for its involvement in Afghanistan. But political violence is virtually unknown in a country known for sponsoring the Nobel Peace Prize and mediating in international conflicts, including in the Middle East and Sri Lanka.

It has also taken part the NATO bombing of Libya, where Muammar Gaddafi has threatened to strike back in Europe.

David Lea, Western Europe analyst, at Control Risks said: "There certainly aren't any domestic Norwegian terrorist groups although there have been some al Qaeda-linked arrests from time to time. They are in Afghanistan and were involved in Libya, but it's far too soon to draw any conclusions."

(Additional reporting by Gwladys Fouche in Oslo and Peter Apps and William Maclean in London; Writing by Alister Doyle; Editing by Alastair Macdonald)


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Norway struck by 2 deadly attacks

By the CNN Wire Staff
July 22, 2011 9:34 p.m. EDT

Oslo, Norway (CNN) -- A 32-year-old Norwegian man was in custody, officials said Friday, after two attacks earlier in the day that killed at least 17 people and wounded scores of others -- attacks police said are definitely linked.

The first attack occurred when a massive bomb erupted in the heart of Oslo; the second occurred at the ruling Labour Party's youth camp on an island outside the capital.

At least seven people were killed in Oslo, and 10 were killed on Utoya Island, about 20 miles away, officials said.

In all, 90 people were hospitalized as a result of the Oslo blast, said Erik Hansen, a spokesman for Oslo Mayor Fabian Stang. The mayor's staff members were searching for housing for people, many of them elderly, whose homes were damaged, Hansen said.

Police spokesman Are Frykholm told CNN that the man arrested on the island appeared to match the description of a person who was seen near the government buildings shortly before the bomb erupted.

The man was wearing a police emblem on his blue sweater, though he does not work for police, Frykholm said.

The prime minister, whose office was badly damaged in the Oslo blast, leads Norway's Labour Party, which runs the youth camp, where about 700 people were in attendance on Friday.

People at the camp said the man arrived Friday on the boat that ferries visitors across the 3/4-mile of water from the mainland and told campers that he was carrying out a security check, Labour Party member Bjorn Jarle Roberg-Larsen told CNN.

"After just a few minutes, he took a handgun and started to shoot people," Roberg-Larsen said. "A panic broke out; people tried to hide; some jumped into the water and tried to swim ashore."

Others took shelter in caves or bushes or climbed trees. "And he went after them," the party member said. "Unfortunately, a lot of people are wounded and also a lot of people are dead."

The acting national police chief, Sveinung Sponheim, told reporters in Oslo that the gun was an automatic weapon and that undetonated explosives were found on the island after the attack.

The vast majority of the Labour Party youth movement attendees were between the ages of 16 and 22, though some were as young as 13 and others as old as their early 30s, Roberg-Larsen said. They had been planning to attend political training classes and participate in group activities during the day and sleep in tents at night, he said.

Citing Norwegian broadcasters, he said that the man was stopped by Norwegian police.

Though casualty figures were not clear, Roberg-Larsen said the nearest hospital was asking donors to give type O blood, the most common type.

"It's a bad day for Norway," he said. "We have never had any terrorist attack on Norwegian soil before. Today, we have had two. So people are completely shocked."

Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Store, a Labour Party member, said he had visited the camp on Thursday. "There was political discussion, there was joy, there was everything that is associated with a political youth camp."

He said that the fact that the suspect is a blond Norwegian man should underscore the importance of allowing police to do their work before drawing any conclusions. "We've seen in Europe in recent years that politicians have been jumping to conclusions about suspects before investigations have been conducted, and we will not commit that error."

Friday's events will have an enduring influence on Norway, but will not fundamentally change the country or what it stands for, he predicted.

"Today, free government was attacked, freedom of association was attacked, the spirit of youth was attacked. But we will kick back and say that these are values that are dear to us, and we intend to defend them and Norway will be recognizable tomorrow as the Norway our friends and partners around the world have known so far."
Glass, debris line streets of Oslo
Witness: Blast almost knocked us over
Security expert: Norway a 'soft target'
RELATED TOPICS

* Norway
* Oslo

Oslo Mayor Stang said it was a "terrible day" for Norwegians.

Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg was not in his office at the time of the blast and was not hurt, officials said.

Afterward, he had a message to whoever may have been responsible: "You won't destroy us," he said. "You won't destroy our democracy. We are a small but proud nation. No one can bomb us to silence. No one can scare us from being Norway. This evening and tonight, we'll take care of each other. That's what we do best when attacked."

Witness: 'The explosion was immense'

Nick Soubiea, an American-Swedish tourist in Oslo, said he was fewer than 100 yards from the blast, which he described as deafening. "It was almost in slow motion, like a big wave that almost knocked us off our chairs," he told CNN. "It was extremely frightening."

Several buildings in Oslo were on fire, smoke billowing from them, he said.

One explosion appeared to have occurred on an upper floor of a main government building; every window on the side of the building had been blown out.

The blast also damaged the Oil Ministry, which caught fire.

A U.S. official said it was too soon to tell what caused the explosion or whether it was a terrorist attack. The possibility of terrorism is always a concern because of the ongoing threat from al Qaeda to launch attacks in Europe, the official said.

But others appeared to have concluded that it was indeed terrorism.

In brief remarks to reporters from the Oval Office, U.S. President Barack Obama extended his condolences to the victims of the violence in Norway, saying the incidents are "a reminder that the entire international community has a stake in preventing this kind of terror from occurring."

Heide Bronke, a U.S. State Department spokeswoman, said Washington was monitoring the situation but did not have any word of U.S. casualties.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague also condemned the attacks.

"We condemn all acts of terrorism," he said. "The UK stands shoulder to shoulder with Norway and all our international allies in the face of such atrocities."

British Ambassador to Norway, Jane Owen, told CNN she was working in the embassy when she felt the blast three miles away. "The whole building shook here in the embassy," she said. "It was quite a sizeable explosion and a huge shock. ... The results demonstrate that it was a very large bomb."

She added, "As we have all experienced, you can never be totally prepared for the horror and the tragedy that unfolds when you do have a major terrorist incident and that is, unfortunately, what the people of Oslo and Norway are now having to cope with."

Stoltenberg, who has been prime minister since October 2005, heads a coalition government comprising the Labour Party, the Socialist Left Party and the Centre Party.

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Iraq’s Foreign Ministry condemns Oslo explosions

7/23/2011 2:47 PM

BAGHDAD / Aswat al-Iraq: Iraq’s Foreign Ministry on Saturday has condemned the explosions that hit the Norwegian Capital of Oslo on Friday, according to a Ministry statement.

The Foreign Ministry’s statement, copy of which was received by Aswat al-Iraq news agency, had called for “necessity to confront terrorism and fighting it, whatever its source might be, despite its race, religion or color.”

The statement had also expressed “Iraq’s solidarity with the Norwegian government and people, to chase the criminals and present them to the law, to face their just punishment.”

The Norwegian Capital of Oslo had been target for two attacks on Friday, the first against government buildings at the center of the city, that caused 7 people killed and 2 others seriously injured, whilst the other against a group of the Norwegian ruling Workers Party members, in an island, close to Oslo, that killed 80 people.

SKH (IT)


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Norway Shooting, Explosion: 92 Killed, Suspect Charged

By MIGUEL MARQUEZ (@miguelmarquez)
July 23, 2011

People in Norway are in shock today after a man dressed as a police officer is suspected of shooting and killing at least 85 at a summer youth camp Friday, just hours after setting off an explosion in nearby Oslo that killed seven.

Officials initially reported that at least 10 people were killed at the youth camp on the island of Utoya but later increased the death toll after more bodies were found, according to the Associated Press.

Officials said that the death toll could still rise.

Norwegian police have arrested a Norwegian man for the attacks.

Police would not confirm the identity of the suspect but said they have charged him with acts of terrorism.

The man is believed to be responsible for both attacks.

TV2, Norway's largest broadcaster, was among several local media outlets that identified the suspect as Anders Behring Breivik, 32.

Breivik is described as a member of "right-wing extremist groups in eastern Norway," and a farmer.

Police said the investigation is still open and they are trying to determine an exact motive and whether he was working with anyone.

Medics and emergency workers escort an injured person from a camp site on the island of Utoya, Norway Saturday July 23, 2011. A Norwegian dressed as a police officer gunned down at least 84 people at an island retreat, police said Saturday.

More information about the suspect emerged today as an agricultural material supplier told police that the man purchased at least six tons of fertilizer several weeks prior to the twin attacks, the Associated Press reported. Fertilizer could be used to make bombs.

"This is beyond comprehension. It's a nightmare. It's a nightmare for those who have been killed, for their mothers and fathers, family and friends," Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg told reporters early today.

Just hours before the shooting at a summer youth camp run by Norway's ruling party on the island of Utoya, explosions ripped through a government building in the capital city of Oslo and left at least seven people dead.

The suspect had been seen in Oslo earlier in the day, according to media reports.

Youth Camp Shooting

After blasts rocked Oslo, the shore of a once idyllic lake at Utoya became a horrific triage area.

"The guy was dressed as a policeman and he was trying to ensure that he was helping us and he said, 'come here,'" said witness Jorgen Benone. "He had a rifle or a sniper which he was using to shoot at us. It was total chaos."

Many tried to swim to safety but the gunman armed with several weapons was able to shoot them as they swam.

Bodies after bodies were pulled from the lake.

The boats and helicopters couldn't move the dead and injured fast enough.

"People were jumping out of windows and running everywhere in all directions - terrified for their lives," said Benone. "Most people ran towards the water hiding behind stones and small hills."

Adrian Pracon, a 21-year-old district secretary, says shooting victims were falling on top of him on the island.

He said he played dead in order to save his own life.

"I feel his breath, I could feel his boots, I could the warmth from the barrel but I didn't move and that's what saved my life," said Pracon.

ABC News' Brian Ross, Mark Schone, Josh Haskell, Robin Respaut and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Talabani calls Norway’s King on necessity to boost anti-terrorism efforts

7/24/2011 11:25 AM

BAGHDAD / Aswat al-Iraq: Iraq’s President, Jalal Talabani, in a telegram he sent on Sunday to King Herald V of the Kingdom of Norway, has reiterated necessity for boosting international effort to confront “terrorism,” expressing solidarity with Norway against recent terrorist aggressions that caused dozens of victims, according to a Presidential statement.



The statement, copy of which was received by Aswat al-Iraq news agency, stressed that President Talabani had sent a telegram of condolences to King Herald V of the Kingdom of Norway, expressing “solidarity with Norway against the crimes of terrorism.”



“Iraq is still suffering and facing with patience and firmness from crimes of terrorism, highly appreciating the significance of strengthening the necessary international effort to face the terrorists,” Talabani said.



The Norwegian Capital of Oslo was exposed for two attacks last Friday, the first against government buildings at the center of the Capital, that killed 7 people and seriously wounded 2 others, whilst the second attack was targeted against a Youth Center in an island, close to Oslo, killing 80 people.



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Norway mass killer wants time in court to tell why

Reuters By Jon Hemming | Reuters – 11 mins ago

OSLO (Reuters) - Anders Behring Breivik wants to tell Norway and the world why he killed at least 93 people in a bomb attack and shooting rampage, but a judge ruled that Monday's custody hearing would be closed to the public.

Crowds packed Oslo cathedral square for a minute of silence that swelled into five. The only sounds were the beeping of traffic crossings, the crying of seagulls and a dog barking.

"This is so very sad, so sad," said Kent Ludvigsen, 42, in the square, where people piled more flowers onto a carpet of bouquets already laid there for the dead since Friday's violence shocked a normally quiet country of 4.8 million.

"This is a tragic event to see all these young people dying due to one man's craziness," Sven-Erik Fredheim, 36, a mechanic, told Reuters near the cathedral square.

"It is important to have this minute of silence so that all the victims and the parents of the families know that people are thinking about them."

Prosecutors want Breivik detained for an initial eight weeks -- normally this is in solitary confinement with no access to news, letters or visitors, except a lawyer. His custody can be extended before his trial on terrorism charges.

Police have said a trial could be a year away. The maximum jail term in Norway is 21 years, although that can be extended if there is a risk of repeat offences.

"In theory he can be in jail for the rest of his life," said Staale Eskeland, professor of criminal law at the University of Oslo.

CRAVING FOR PUBLICITY

Breivik, a self-confessed mass killer, has said through his lawyer that he wants to explain his motives at the hearing.

The 32-year-old, who portrays himself as crusader against a tide of Islam in a rambling 1,500-page online manifesto, says he wants to explain acts he deemed 'atrocious' but 'necessary'.

The hearing, expected to start after 1 p.m. (7 a.m. EDT), has opened a debate about freedom of expression, with many people opposed to allowing Breivik to expound his radical views.

More than 60,000 had signed up to a Facebook page called "Shut the doors on Monday", calling on the court to deny Breivik the publicity he craves.

Another Facebook group called "Boycott Anders Behring Breivik" carried the message: "He has planned this stage, to get propaganda. Do NOT let him get that freedom...Boycott all media describing the Norwegian terrorist and his beliefs."

Breivik has asked to wear a uniform in court, but his lawyer, Geir Lippestad, said he did not know what type. The killer was dressed as a policeman during his shooting spree.

Breivik has not served in the armed forces but in some of the pictures he posted on the Internet before his killing spree he was dressed in a military-style outfit.

A small group of people gathered outside the Oslo Court House, although they were outnumbered by journalists.

Lippestad said his client had admitted to the shootings at a Labour youth camp and a bombing that killed seven people in Oslo's government district, but that he denies criminal guilt.

"He has been politically active and found out himself that he did not succeed with usual political tools and so resorted to violence," Lippestad told TV2 news.

"I await a medical assessment of him," he said.

SAVING EUROPE

The worst peacetime massacre in Norway's modern history was driven by Breivik's self-imposed mission to save Europe from perceived threats of Islam, immigration and multi-culturalism.

That he surrendered to police when finally confronted on the tiny island of Utoeya after shooting dead 86 youngsters underlines his desire to secure a public platform.

Breivik wrote in his manifesto, posted hours before his attacks, that if he survived his assault and was arrested, this would "mark the initiation of the propaganda phase".

Norwegian newspapers focused on the victims as shock turns to mourning, giving chilling new accounts of the island massacre and focusing on acts of bravery which saved lives.

The main broadsheet Aftenposten led with "Sorrow unites Norway" and printed a picture of a central Oslo square filled with flowers and lit candles in remembrance of the dead.

Daily Dagsavisen asked "Why didn't you come earlier?" citing screams by youth as police arrived on Utoeya island on Friday -- an hour after they were notified of the shooting.

Police believe Breivik acted alone after losing faith in mainstream parties, even those that have gained popularity and parliamentary seats on anti-immigration policies in otherwise liberal, tolerant European nations, including affluent Norway.

The attack was likely to tone down the immigration debate ahead of September local elections, analysts said, as parties try to distance themselves from Breivik's beliefs and reinforce Norwegians' self-image as an open, peaceful people.

Norway's immigrant numbers nearly tripled between 1995 and 2010 to almost half a million. The sense that many were drawn by Norway's generous welfare handouts helped spur the growth of the Progress Party which became Norway's second biggest in parliament after the 2009 election on a largely anti-immigration platform.

SCHEMING TO "RESIST"

Breivik was once a member of the party, but left complaining it was too politically correct. It was then he began scheming to "resist", burying ammunition more than a year ago, weight-lifting, storing up credit cards and researching bomb-making while playing online war games.

After three months of laboriously pounding and mixing fertilizer, aspirin and other chemicals on a remote farm, Breivik drove a hire car packed with the results to the center of Oslo on Friday, triggering the device outside government offices, killing seven and shattering thousands of windows.

He then drove to the small island of Utoeya, 45 km (28 miles) away. Dressed as a policeman, he calmly shot down youngsters at a youth summer camp of the ruling Labour Party. His terrified victims tried to hide under beds or in the woods. Some leapt into the lake and tried to swim to the mainland.

"This is going to be an all-or-nothing scenario," Breivik wrote in his English-language online journal on the morning of the attack. "First coming costume party this autumn, dress up as a police officer. Arrive with insignias:-) Will be awesome as people will be very astonished:-)."

A surgeon at a hospital that treated 35 of the wounded said Breivik may have used "dum-dum" bullets for maximum damage.

"These bullets don't explode inside the body but fragment into pieces more quickly than other bullets," Colin Poole, chief surgeon of the Ringerike district hospital, told Reuters.

While Breivik was stalking his prey on Utoeya, it took police a full hour to get a team of elite forces to the island after one boat, overloaded with officers and equipment, was forced to stop when it began to take on water.

Norwegian television managed to charter a helicopter and filmed the killer before the police showed up. When the armed team did arrive, Breivik gave himself up without a figh

(Additional reporting by Walter Gibbs, Anna Ringstrom, Henrik Stoelen, Terje Solsvik, Patrick Lannin, Johan Ahlander, Wojciech Moskwa, Alister Doyle, John Acher and Ole Petter Skonnord in Oslo, Writing by Alistair Lyon)


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