Explosion at US embassy in Oslo may have terrorist motives, Norwegian police say | War between the United States and Israel against Iran News

According to the police, other motives are also being investigated, while one or more perpetrators are being searched.

Police in Norway say an overnight explosion at the US embassy in the capital Oslo, which caused no injuries and minor property damage, may have been an act of terrorism, but other motives are also being investigated.

“It is natural to see this in the context of the current security situation and that it could be a deliberately targeted attack on the US embassy,” Frode Larsen, head of the Oslo police investigation unit, said at a news conference on Sunday.

“One of our hypotheses is that it is terrorism, but we are also exploring other options,” Larsen later told public broadcaster NRK. “But we’re not completely stuck on that. We have to be open to the possibility that there may be other causes behind what happened.”

People at the scene said the street was covered in thick smoke after the explosion.

The explosion at the embassy compound in western Oslo occurred at 1 a.m. local time (00:00 GMT), causing thick smoke to billow into the street next to the entrance to the consular section, witnesses said.

No suspect has been identified, but police are searching for one or more perpetrators and are cooperating closely with the embassy, ​​Larsen said.

The Norwegian government contacted embassy officials to convey that this was “an unacceptable act that we take very seriously,” Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide said in a statement.

“The security of diplomatic missions is very important to us,” he said.

PST, Norway’s police security service, called in additional personnel after the incident, but the country’s terrorist threat level has not changed, according to communications adviser Martin Bernsen.

“This is an unacceptable incident that is being treated with the utmost seriousness,” said Astri Aas-Hansen, Norway’s Minister of Justice and Public Security.

“The police have stated that they are investigating the case with significant resources and that there is nothing to indicate that the situation represents any danger to the public.”

Police added that they are working to protect the Jewish community in the country following the incident, which occurred as US and Israeli forces attacked Iran, a conflict that has engulfed several other Middle Eastern nations.