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Terrorists kill 7 in Oslo bombing, twenty feared dead in camp shooting [UPDATE: Homegrown terrorist?]
At least seven people were killed and two 15 seriously injured today in a cowardly terrorist attack in Oslo, Norway.
From YouTube: “Amateur footage captures the eerie moments direct after a blast hits central Oslo, wrecking the Office of the Prime Minister, and setting fires in the Norwegian Oil Ministry opposite.”
The New York Times is reporting the event as well as a claim of responsibility: [emphasis added below — FMP]
Powerful explosions shook central Oslo on Friday afternoon, blowing out the windows of several government buildings, including one housing the office of the Norwegian prime minister. The state television broadcaster, citing the police, said seven people were killed and at least 15 injured; a spokeswoman for the prime minister, Jens Stoltenberg, said he was “safe and not hurt.”
Shortly after the explosions, which appeared to be a bomb attack, a man dressed as a police officer opened fire on a summer camp for young members of the governing Labor Party on the island of Utoya about 25 miles northwest of the city, and wounded at least five, a Norwegian security official said.
“The situation’s gone from bad to worse,” said Runar Kvernen, spokesman for the National Police Directorate under the Ministry of Justice and Police, adding that most of the children at the camp were 15 and 16 years old.
…The attacks appeared to be part of a coordinated assault on the ordinarily peaceful Scandinavian nation, as images of the damaged government buildings called to mind past terror attacks in Beirut or Baghdad or Oklahoma City.
Though the police did not immediately connect the explosions with terrorism, the mangled wreckage of a car could be seen in front of the main government building, flipped on its side, damaged so badly that its make and color were not apparent, and a large area of sidewalk pavement was completely blown away. Reports in local media said that officials were assuming it was a deliberate bombing.
A terror group, Ansar al-Jihad al-Alami, or the Helpers of the Global Jihad, issued a statement claiming responsibility for the attack, according to Will McCants, a terrorism analyst at C.N.A., a research institute that studies terrorism. The message said the attack was a response to Norwegian forces’ presence in Afghanistan and to unspecified insults to the Prophet Muhammad. “We have warned since the Stockholm raid of more operations,” the group said, according to Mr. McCants’ translation, apparently referring to a bombing in Sweden in December 2010. “What you see is only the beginning, and there is more to come.” The claim could not be confirmed.
Al Arabiya pretty much made the same observations over the motivations behind the attacks.
Terrorism comes to Norway. Was it Al Qaeda?
Evidence as to who was responsible for a huge bombing in the Norwegian capital of Oslo on Friday may have been lacking, but recent history suggests it could be the work of Al Qaeda or other Middle Eastern terrorist organizations.
One prime source of grievance for such groups is the fact that Norway has about 500 troops taking part in military operations in Afghanistan. Al Qaeda has threatened retaliation unless the troops are withdrawn.
Less likely to be the cause of the bombing is Norwegian participation in the NATO bombing campaign in Libya. The government announced in June that it was reducing the number of fighter jets involved from six to four and would withdraw completely by Aug. 1.A third possibility is that the bombing is retaliation for the 2010 publication in the Oslo newspaper Dagbladet of a cartoon showing the Prophet Muhammad as a pig writing the Qur’an. The publication brought out large-scale protests by Muslims, with 1,000 Muslim taxi drivers using their cars to block streets in central Oslo in February last year.
Dagbladet said it had published the cartoon not to provoke Muslims but to illustrate that the Facebook profile of the Police Security Service contained links to Muhammad cartoons.
These are not the same cartoons that a Danish newspaper, Jyllands-Posten, published in 2005 and that brought demonstrations against Danish embassies in several Middle East capitals.
But the bombing occurred outside the offices of the newspaper VG (Verdens Gang), not outside the Dagbladet offices, and outside a collection of government buildings including the prime minister’s office.
Yet another possibility is that the bombing was linked to a controversy over Mullah Krekar, founder of the Kurdish armed Islamist group Ansar al-Islam. Norwegian prosecutors filed a terrorism charge against him on Tuesday after he threatened a former minister, Erna Solberg, with death if he is deported.
He came to Norway as a refugee from northern Iraq in 1991. His wife and four children have Norwegian nationality but he does not. His birth name was Najmuddin Faraj Ahmad.
In 2009 he announced he wanted to establish an Islamic Caliphate with Osama bin Laden as one of its leaders.
Another possibility: In February of this year, Norway had proposed a ban on marriage between cousins, which happens to be an Islamic custom. And many in the Muslim community expressed (wait for it) outrage that they might not be allowed to wed their nieces and cousins in incestuous arranged marriages.
Inbreeding certainly would explain why Islamic supremacists are prone to terrorism when they don’t get their way.
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UPDATE: An eyewitness has told Norway’s NRK broadcaster he saw more than 20 bodies at the camp shooting on the island of Utoya.
People were seen swimming away from the island in an attempt to escape
Former Guardian staffer Neil Perry, based in Oslo, is watching Norwegian television and tells me they are showing images taken from a helicopter showing people still swimming in the water off Utoya Island, presumably they threw themselves into the sea to get away from the gunman. An eyewitness has reported bodies of people who had been shot floating in the water.
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UPDATE: Associated Press is now contradicting earlier reports that a jihadist group had claimed responsibility, and are now saying this attack may have been pulled off by a native Norwegian named Anders Behring Breivik.
A homegrown terrorist set off an explosion that ripped open buildings in the heart of Norway’s government Friday, then went to a summer camp dressed as a police officer and gunned down youths as they ran and even swam for their lives, police said Friday.
The attacks killed at least 17 people in this peaceful nation’s worst violence since World War II.
A police official said the 32-year-old ethnic Norwegian suspect arrested at the camp on Utoya island appears to have acted alone in both attacks, and that “it seems like that this is not linked to any international terrorist organizations at all.” The official spoke on condition of anonymity because that information had not been officially released by Norway’s police.
“It seems it’s not Islamic-terror related,” the official said. “This seems like a madman’s work.”
The official said the attack “is probably more Norway’s Oklahoma City than it is Norway’s World Trade Center.” Domestic terrorists carried out the 1995 attack on a federal building in Oklahoma City, while foreign terrorists were responsible for the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.
The official added, however, “it’s still just hours since the incident happened. And the investigation is going on with all available resources.”
The motive was unknown, but both attacks were in areas connected to the ruling Labor Party government. The youth camp, about 20 miles northwest of Oslo, is organized by the party’s youth wing, and the prime minister had been scheduled to speak there Saturday.
…The police official who spoke on condition of anonymity said the Oslo bombing occurred at 3:26 p.m. local time, and the camp shootings began one to two hours later. The official said the gunman used both automatic weapons and handguns, and that there was at least one unexploded device at the youth camp that a police bomb disposal team and military experts were working on disarming.
The suspect had only a minor criminal record, the official said.
Police said seven people died in the Oslo blast, and another 9 or 10 people were killed at the camp. Rescuers were to search to blast wreckage through the night for more victims, and Stoltenberg said police fear there could be more victims at the camp as well.
…At least two extremist groups had tried to take credit for the attacks. Many intelligence analysts said they had never heard of Helpers of Global Jihad, which took initial credit. Ansar al-Islam also took credit on some jihadist web sites.
Norway has been grappling 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 centered 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 neighboring Denmark since an uproar over cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad six years ago.
The terrorist’s Facebook page and Twitter account have been publicized but it looks like they were both just activated within the past week, which is very suspicious. Something doesn’t add up here.
According to multiple news reports in Norway and Sweden, Brievik belonged to Oslo’s extreme right wing. He was a frequent poster in Norwegian right-wing online forums, the accounts said, and had two guns registered to his name. He also appears to have launched a social media presence just days before the attacks.
In Breivik’s Facebook account, now removed, the suspect identifies himself as a Christian conservative. However, that was far from his only interest. Breivik also listed himself as a fan of World of Warcraft, Modern Warfare 2, bodybuilding and stock analysis. The account, which appeared to have only been started last week, was mostly filled with music videos. Breivik, who listed himself as single, said he had completed “3,000 hours of study in micro and macro finance, religion.”
Breivik appears to have started a Twitter account on the same day as he launched his Facebook presence, July 17. The account, which has not been removed, has just one tweet to its name. It’s a quote from the philosopher John Stuart Mill: “One person with a belief is equal to the force of 100 000 who have only interests.”
The attacks may well have been politically motivated. The bombing took place outside a building where the Prime Minister, who wasn’t present, has an office. And the purpose of the summer camp on the island of Utoya was to teach teenagers about politics.
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UPDATE: Absolute evil. 92 people have been killed by this madman.
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.
Posted by FullMetalPatriot
12th gen. American, Constitutionalist, Harley-riding Texan, gun owner & NRA member, blogger, illustrator, Florida Gator alumnus. #TCOT
12th gen. American, Constitutionalist, Harley-riding Texan, gun owner & NRA member, blogger, illustrator, Florida Gator alumnus. #TCOT
Reuters reports the deadly attacks in Norway are a result of right-wing extremism. The alleged gunman has now been identified as Anders Behring Breivik. His Facebook page lists his religious views as Christian and his political views as conservative. He considered himself a “nationalist” and was strongly opposed to multiculturalism and to Islam.
I wonder if the Daily Kos has blamed Palin yet?
Probably. I’ve already seen several libs attempt to tar all conservatives with this heinous terrorism, as though the desire for a constitutionally-limited government equals mass murder.
[...] Terrorists kill 7 in Oslo bombing, twenty feared dead in camp shooting [UPDATE: Homegrown terrorist?... [...]
MSM Ignores How Oslo Shooter’s Own Manifesto Completely Destroys “Christian Conservative” Label
http://bigjournalism.com/edulis/2011/07/27/msm-ignores-how-oslo-shooters-own-manifesto-completely-destroys-christian-conservative-label/