Terrorism comes to Norway.
Posted: Fri Jul 22, 2011 9:35 pm
Twin terror attacks shock Norway
Norway has been hit by twin attacks - a massive bomb blast in the capital and a shooting attack on young people at a governing Labour Party youth camp.
At least seven people were killed in the bombing, which inflicted huge damage on government buildings in Oslo.
At least 10 more died at the camp, on an island outside Oslo, police say. One witness said he had seen 20 bodies.
Police arrested the suspected gunman at the camp and the government have confirmed that he is Norwegian.
Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg, whose Oslo offices were among those damaged by the bomb, described the attacks as "bloody and cowardly" in a news conference.
He said that Norway had been "shaken by evil" but that Norwegian democracy and ideals would not be destroyed.
"We are a small nation and a proud nation. No-one will bomb us to silence no-one will shoot us to silence," he said.
Norwegian media reports said the shootings on the island, on the Tyrifjorden lake, were carried out by a man in police uniform.
Police later said that he was also linked with the bomb attack. Reports described him as tall and blond.
No group has said it carried out the attacks.
One witness at the island said he had seen more than 20 bodies there, but police have not confirmed this.
Hours after the bomb struck Oslo, officials said some people were still inside the damaged buildings, some of which were on fire.
Television footage from the government quarter showed rubble and glass from shattered windows in the streets and smoke from the fires drifting across the city. The wreckage of at least one car could be seen.
All roads into the city centre have been closed, said national broadcaster NRK, as security officials evacuated people from the area, fearing another blast.
Egil Vrekke, Assistant Chief Constable of Oslo police told the BBC the rescue operation in Oslo was ongoing.
"We are issuing warnings just [to] make sure people are not in the area in case there are further explosions," he told the BBC.
"We have cordoned off large areas. There are bomb experts at the scene investigating whether there are other devices in the area."
A spokesman for Oslo University hospital said 10 people had been taken there for treatment, some with serious injuries.
A few hours after the explosion, the gunman opened fire at a camp in Utoeya for young members of the Labour Party.
Andre Scheie, who said he went to the island after the shooting to help evacuate people, told reporters he had seen at least 20 bodies.
NRK journalist Ole Torp said there were reports the gunman had been armed with a handgun, an automatic weapon and a shotgun.
"He travelled on the ferry boat from the mainland over to that little inland island posing as a police officer, saying he was there to do research in connection with the bomb blasts," he told the BBC.
"He asked people to gather round and then he started shooting, so these young people fled into the bushes and woods and some even swam off the island to get to safety."
Mr Stoltenberg had been due to visit the camp on Saturday. He told TV2 the situation there was critical.
Police have not yet commented on the number of victims, but police spokesman Anders Frydenberg told the BBC that soldiers were now on the island.
Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Store, who visited the camp on Thursday, praised those who were attending.
"The country has no finer youth than young people who go for a summer camp doing politics, doing discussions, doing training, doing football, and then they experience this absolutely horrendous act of violence."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-14256712
