OSLO, Norway – Norway is reeling from two violent incidents — the bombing of government buildings in Oslo and a shooting at the governing party’s youth camp outside the capital.
Police say a powerful bomb killed at least seven people and injured 15 as it ripped open buildings including the prime minister’s office.
Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg was not in the building at the time of the attack. Stoltenberg urged Norwegians to not cave in to fear caused by the bombing and the shooting at a Labor Party youth camp.
Several people were thought to be injured in the shooting. A suspect has been arrested.
Stoltenberg told Norwegian broadcaster NRK: "Co-workers have lost their lives today … "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."
People trapped in Oslo buildings
State Secretary Kristian Amundsen told BBC that "there are still people in the buildings" at the blast site but declined to elaborate.
Chatter on a jihadi forum suggests a group called the Helpers of the Global Jihad have claimed responsibility. So far, officials have not confirmed who is repsonsible for the bloodshed.
Most of the windows in the 20-floor high-rise 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 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.
The blast comes as Norway grapples with a homegrown terror plot linked to al-Qaida. 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.
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With files from Global News
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