Surprised no one posted on this, since we do have a member from Norway... (Hope you're alright Preach!)
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Norwegian police are sending anti-terrorism officers to a political youth camp outside Oslo amid reports of a shooting, hours after a huge explosion at government headquarters killed at least seven people and injured 15.
The news site VG reported that a man dressed in a police uniform opened fire at the camp, which is a youth convention for the Norway Labour Party, the ruling party.
VG said several people were injured, and a Norway Labour Party spokesman confirmed the injuries to The Associated Press.
Oslo police Chief Anstein Gjengdal said anti-terrorism units were being sent to the camp at Utoya, outside the capital.
"It seems to be a co-ordinated terrorist attack going on in Norway at this time," freelance reporter Hallvard Sandberg told CBC News.
Police are asking all civilians to stay away from downtown Oslo and not gather in large groups.
Norwegian capital hit by 'one or more' bombs
Police told reporters the explosion Friday was caused by "one or more" bombs. They declined to speculate on who was behind the blast.
Asked if the blast was caused by a car bomb, Gjengdal said: "It is possible that a vehicle has been used in this incident, but we can't confirm this."
Gjengdal also said that police have sealed off the office of Norwegian broadcaster TV2 to investigate a suspicious package there.
A Norwegian government official also was quoted as saying that people remain trapped in some buildings hit by the bomb blast. Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg is safe, government spokeswoman Camilla Ryste told The Associated Press.
A senior adviser to the prime minister, Oivind Ostang, said Stoltenberg was working at home Friday and was not in the building.
"There has been one or several powerful explosions in the government district in Oslo," Oslo police said in a brief statement.
NRK showed video of a blackened car lying on its side amid the debris.
Most of the windows in the 20-floor highrise were blown out, and the bottom floor appeared to be gutted. Nearby offices were also heavily damaged and evacuated, including those housing some of Norway's leading newspapers and news agency NTB.
Witness Ole Tommy Pedersen was standing at a bus stop about 100 metres from the high-rise at around 3:30 p.m. local time when the explosion occurred.
"I saw three or four injured people being carried out of the building a few minutes later," Pedersen told AP.
An AP reporter who was in the NTB office said the building shook from the blast and all employees evacuated as the alarm went off. Down in the street, he saw one person with a bleeding leg being led away from the area.
The government building houses the offices of the prime minister and his administration. Several ministries are in surrounding buildings.
Norway dealing with terror charges
The blast comes as Norway grapples with a homegrown terror plot linked to al-Qaeda. Two suspects are in jail awaiting charges.
Last week, a Norwegian prosecutor filed terror charges against an Iraqi-born cleric for threatening Norwegian politicians with death if he is deported from the Scandinavian country.
The indictment centred on statements that Mullah Krekar — the founder of the Kurdish Islamist group Ansar al-Islam — made to various news media, including American network NBC.
Terrorism has also been a concern in neighbouring Denmark since an uproar over cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad six years ago. Danish authorities say they have foiled several terror plots linked to the 2005 newspaper cartoons that triggered protests in Muslim countries.
Last month, a Danish appeals court on Wednesday sentenced a Somali man to 10 years in prison for breaking into the home of the cartoonist.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2011/07/22/oslo-blast.html
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Norwegian police are sending anti-terrorism officers to a political youth camp outside Oslo amid reports of a shooting, hours after a huge explosion at government headquarters killed at least seven people and injured 15.
The news site VG reported that a man dressed in a police uniform opened fire at the camp, which is a youth convention for the Norway Labour Party, the ruling party.
VG said several people were injured, and a Norway Labour Party spokesman confirmed the injuries to The Associated Press.
Oslo police Chief Anstein Gjengdal said anti-terrorism units were being sent to the camp at Utoya, outside the capital.
"It seems to be a co-ordinated terrorist attack going on in Norway at this time," freelance reporter Hallvard Sandberg told CBC News.
Police are asking all civilians to stay away from downtown Oslo and not gather in large groups.
Norwegian capital hit by 'one or more' bombs
Police told reporters the explosion Friday was caused by "one or more" bombs. They declined to speculate on who was behind the blast.
Asked if the blast was caused by a car bomb, Gjengdal said: "It is possible that a vehicle has been used in this incident, but we can't confirm this."
Gjengdal also said that police have sealed off the office of Norwegian broadcaster TV2 to investigate a suspicious package there.
A Norwegian government official also was quoted as saying that people remain trapped in some buildings hit by the bomb blast. Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg is safe, government spokeswoman Camilla Ryste told The Associated Press.
A senior adviser to the prime minister, Oivind Ostang, said Stoltenberg was working at home Friday and was not in the building.
"There has been one or several powerful explosions in the government district in Oslo," Oslo police said in a brief statement.
NRK showed video of a blackened car lying on its side amid the debris.
Most of the windows in the 20-floor highrise were blown out, and the bottom floor appeared to be gutted. Nearby offices were also heavily damaged and evacuated, including those housing some of Norway's leading newspapers and news agency NTB.
Witness Ole Tommy Pedersen was standing at a bus stop about 100 metres from the high-rise at around 3:30 p.m. local time when the explosion occurred.
"I saw three or four injured people being carried out of the building a few minutes later," Pedersen told AP.
An AP reporter who was in the NTB office said the building shook from the blast and all employees evacuated as the alarm went off. Down in the street, he saw one person with a bleeding leg being led away from the area.
The government building houses the offices of the prime minister and his administration. Several ministries are in surrounding buildings.
Norway dealing with terror charges
The blast comes as Norway grapples with a homegrown terror plot linked to al-Qaeda. Two suspects are in jail awaiting charges.
Last week, a Norwegian prosecutor filed terror charges against an Iraqi-born cleric for threatening Norwegian politicians with death if he is deported from the Scandinavian country.
The indictment centred on statements that Mullah Krekar — the founder of the Kurdish Islamist group Ansar al-Islam — made to various news media, including American network NBC.
Terrorism has also been a concern in neighbouring Denmark since an uproar over cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad six years ago. Danish authorities say they have foiled several terror plots linked to the 2005 newspaper cartoons that triggered protests in Muslim countries.
Last month, a Danish appeals court on Wednesday sentenced a Somali man to 10 years in prison for breaking into the home of the cartoonist.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2011/07/22/oslo-blast.html
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