Car Bomb in Oslo

Not much news yet, but a bomb has been set off in Oslo, Norway outside Goverment building. Looks dreadful. Some fatalities and a number of injuries.

Blast damages government buildings

July 22, 2011


Smoke billows from a damaged building after an explosion in Oslo (TV2 NORWAY)

A loud explosion shattered windows at the government headquarters in Oslo on Friday, injuring several people.

Norway's public broadcaster NRK says one person has been confirmed killed in the explosion at the government headquarters in Oslo.

The buildings include the office of Norway's Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg, who is safe, government spokeswoman Camilla Ryste told The Associated Press.

Witness Ole Tommy Pedersen was standing at a bus stop about 100 yards from the building at around 3.30pm (1430BST) when he saw the blast shatter almost all windows of the 20-floor building. He said a cloud of smoke is billowing from the bottom floors.

"I saw three or four injured people being carried out of the building a few minutes later," Mr Pedersen told The Associated Press.

Nearby offices were evacuated including those housing some of Norway's leading newspapers and news agency NTB.

An AP reporter at the scene saw one person with a bleeding leg being led away from the area.

Video shown by Norwegian broadcaster NRK showed most of the windows of the building had been blown out.

The bottom floor appeared to be completely gutted. Shattered glass and debris littered a square in front of the building. Nearby offices were evacuated including those housing some of Norway's leading newspapers and news agency NTB. Some of them were also damaged.

The government building houses the prime minister's office and his administration. Several ministries are in surrounding buildings.

AOL

Holy moly, I have two friends who live in Oslo. Luckily they're off on a surfing holiday ( I know, in Norway! ) But just the other day they were telling me nothing exciting ever happened in Norway. Why on earth would anyone want to bomb the Norwegians??

Neo-Nazis?

Islamist fanatics?

Lone nut?

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Quite a different Scandinavian country I know, but before his all too brief incursion into writing fiction Swedish author Stieg Larsson's journalistic career was largely concerned with exposing the activities of Neo-Nazi groups who still rank among the main suspects for the as yet unsolved murder of the Swedish Prime Minister Olaf Palme in the mid-1980's.

Both Larsson's fiction and that of his Norwegian equivalent Jo Nesbo rather challenge the general perception of Scandinavian countries as model Social Democratic Utopias: lots of surprisingly nasty stuff in the woodwork.

LaRue wrote:Why on earth would anyone want to bomb the Norwegians??

I swear, LaRue, those were almost my exact words when I heard about the assassination of Swedish PM Olaf Palme in the mid-1980's.

This is absolutely horrific.

After detonating the car bomb in central Oslo, the same man apparently made his way to a nearby island where a kind of young people's Labour Party summer camp was in progress and opened fire. BBC Radio 5 Live has just put the combined death toll from the two incidents at 80.

This AOL report is out of date regarding casualties, but it's all that's available at present:

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16 killed in bomb and gun attacks

July 22, 2011


A woman walks through debris after the explosion in Oslo (Scanpix)

At least 16 people are feared dead after a bomb ripped open buildings in the heart of Norway's government and a man dressed as a police officer opened fire at an island youth camp connected to the ruling party.

Seven people were killed in the blast which hit government buildings in the capital Oslo, while at least nine died in the camp shootings on the island of Utoya.

And eyewitness Andre Scheie told Norwegian broadcaster NRK that he saw "very many dead by the shore", possibly up to 25, at the camp on Utoya, where the youth wing of the Labour Party was holding a summer camp for hundreds of youngsters.

He said some victims were shot in the water after trying desperately to swim away.

One man - a Norwegian - has been arrested following the camp shooting, and officials suspect he is linked to the Oslo blast as he was spotted in the city before the explosion.

In the Norwegian capital, a square was covered in twisted metal, shattered glass and documents expelled from surrounding buildings, which house government offices and the headquarters of some of Norway's leading newspapers.

Most of the windows in the 20-floor high-rise where Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg and his administration work were shattered. Mr Stoltenberg was working at home at the time and was unharmed.

Police said the explosion was caused by "one or more" bombs, but declined to speculate on who was behind the attack. They later sealed off the nearby offices of broadcaster TV 2 after discovering a suspicious package.

Public broadcaster NRK showed video of a blackened car lying on its side amid the debris.

Mr Stoltenberg told Norwegian broadcaster NRK: "Co-workers have lost their lives... it's frightening. That's not how we want things in our country. But it's important that we don't let ourselves be scared. Because the purpose of that kind of violence is to create fear."

AOL

^

It's all still speculation at this stage, but given that the killer is reported to be a fair-haired white Norwegian, the neo-Nazi angle is looking more probable.

BBC Radio 5 Live reports that Norway has a high immigrant population- I think the figure quoted was 12%- so I'm guessing that this was the work of a far-Right individual/group.

80 dead after shooting rampage

July 23, 2011


Smoke and flames billow from the shattered window of a building after an explosion in Oslo (AP/TV2)

A fair-haired, blue-eyed Norwegian man who dressed as a police officer to gun down summer campers killed at least 80 people at an island retreat, police have said.

It took investigators several hours to realise the full horror of Friday's massacre, which followed an explosion which killed seven people in nearby Oslo. Police believe it was set off by the same suspect.

Police did not release his name, but Norwegian national broadcaster NRK said he was 32-year-old Anders Breivik and reported that officers had searched his Oslo apartment overnight.

Police said later the suspect had right-wing and anti-Muslim views, but the motive for the attacks was unclear.

The mass shootings are among the worst in history. With the blast outside the prime minister's office, they formed the deadliest day of terror in Western Europe since the 2004 Madrid train bombings which claimed 191 lives.

Police initially said about 10 were killed at the forested camp on the island of Utoya, but some survivors said they thought the toll was much higher. Early on Saturday police director Oystein Maeland said they had discovered many more victims.

"It's taken time to search the area. What we know now is that we can say that there are at least 80 killed at Utoya," Mr Maeland said. "It goes without saying that this gives dimensions to this incident that are exceptional."

Mr Maeland warned that the death toll could rise and said others were severely injured.

A police official said the suspect appeared to have acted alone in both attacks and "it seems like that this is not linked to any international terrorist organisations at all".

"This seems like a madman's work," he added.

AOL

All those children, jesus christ this is awful.

32-year-old Anders Breivik

Described by a Norwegian journalist on the phone to BBC Radio 5 live as a member of a "Christian Conservative" group.

Death toll now up to 91. How did he manage to shoot so many at the camp? How come he was not apprehended?

LaRue wrote:Death toll now up to 91. How did he manage to shoot so many at the camp? How come he was not apprehended?

1. Surprise.
2. Island location.
3. Semi-automatic weapon.
4. Police uniform engendering misplaced trust.
5. Open society = lack of Security.

Fair enough.

European Security Services have been flagging-up a "Mumbai-style attack" on a western city by Al-Qaeda for some time now, so it's doubly tragic and ironic that such an attack should materialise from (apparently) quite the other end of the spectrum of crazies.

I expect Al-Qaeda are saving it all up for an attack on a major transport hub in the course of the 2012 London Olympics.

Suspect charged over Norway attacks

July 23, 2011


Medics and emergency workers escort youths from a camp site on the island of Utoya (AP)

A Norwegian gunman disguised as a police officer beckoned his victims closer before shooting them one by one, claiming at least 84 lives, in a horrific killing spree.

The island tragedy on Friday unfolded hours after a massive explosion ripped through a high-rise building housing the prime minister's office, killing seven people in a scene some likened to the aftermath of 9/11.

The same man - a Norwegian with reported Christian fundamentalist, anti-Muslim views - is suspected in both attacks. He has been preliminarily charged with acts of terrorism.

On the island of Utoya, panicked teens attending a Labour Party youth wing summer camp plunged into the water or played dead to avoid the assailant in the assault that may have lasted 30 minutes before a Swat team arrived, police said.

Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg said the twin attacks made Friday peacetime Norway's deadliest day.

"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," Mr Stoltenberg told reporters. He said he would meet victims later in the day on Utoya.

The toll in both attacks reached 91, and police said that could still rise as they search the waters around the island for more bodies.

Acting Police Chief Roger Andresen said he did not how many people were still missing. The Oslo University hospital said it has so far received 11 wounded from the bombing and 16 people from the camp shooting.

The carnage began on Friday afternoon in Oslo, when a bomb rocked the heart of Norway.

About two hours later, the shootings began at a retreat for ruling Labour Party's youth-wing, according to a police official. The gunman used both automatic weapons and handguns.

AOL

eddie wrote:A Norwegian gunman disguised as a police officer beckoned his victims closer before shooting them one by one

God, that's sick.

It would be interesting to know how many of the teenage victims of the summer camp atrocity were young muslim supporters of Norway's Labour Party.

Also...has it been established yet that the perp WASN'T actually a police officer?

Suspect charged over Norway attacks

July 23, 2011


Photo showing what the police is the alleged gunman walking among victims at Utoya island (AP/NRK, Marius Arnesen via Scanpix)

A gunman who opened fire on an island teeming with young people kept shooting for an hour and a half before surrendering to a Swat team which arrived 40 minutes after they were called, police in Norway said.

Survivors of the shooting spree on Utoya island have described hiding and fleeing into the water to escape the gunman, but a police briefing on Saturday detailed for the first time how long the terror lasted - and how long victims waited for help.

When the Swat team arrived, the gunman, who had two firearms, surrendered, said police chief Sveinung Sponheim.

"There were problems with transport to Utoya", where the youth-wing of Norway's Labour Party was holding a retreat, Mr Sponheim said. "It was difficult to get a hold of boats, but that problem was solved when the SWAT team arrived."

At least 85 people were killed on the island, but police said four or five people are still missing. Divers have been searching the waters around the island.

The attack followed a bombing at a government building in the capital, Oslo, where seven people were killed. Police are still digging through rubble there, and Mr Sponheim said body parts remained in the building.

Police have not identified the suspect, but Norwegian national broadcaster NRK said he is 32-year-old Anders Behring Breivik. Authorities have not identified a motive but said he visited Christian fundamentalist websites and once belonged to the youth-wing of a rightist party.

Police said he is talking to them and has admitted firing weapons on the island. It was not clear if he had confessed to anything else he is accused of. Police said he had retained a lawyer, who did not want to be named. "He has had a dialogue with the police the whole time, but he's a very demanding suspect," Mr Sponheim said.

Norway's royal family and prime minister led the nation in mourning on Saturday, visiting grieving relatives of the scores of teenagers who were gunned down.

Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg said the twin attacks made yesterday peacetime Norway's deadliest day, adding: "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".

AOL

A sad day for humanity !

More unrecovered bodies are believed to be in the waters off Utoya island.

More bodies and body parts have still to be recovered from buildings in central Oslo which are too structurally unsafe to enter at present.

Not how I imagined he would look?

he looks like a fellow named Martin Bryant, who went on a shooting spree a few years ago over here, in Tasmania.

very sad that someone should need to shoot people like that.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Bryant

From the BBC: "Mr Sponheim confirmed that the maximum time Mr Breivik could face in prison under Norwegian law is 21 years"

WHAT THE FUCK? That scumbag murders 90+ people and spends merely 21 years in prison? He'll be in his mid fifties when he gets out. How awful, he deserves to spend the rest of his days rotting in a cell.

Nah Ville Sky Chick wrote:

Not how I imagined he would look?

really? cause that's pretty much exactly what I picture when I think of Norwegians