Three brothers arrested in Norway for bomb attack on the US embassy in Oslo | News

Three Norwegian citizens of Iraqi descent arrested as investigators look into possible involvement of a foreign state.

Norwegian police say they have arrested three brothers suspected of carrying out Sunday’s “terrorist attack” on the US embassy in Oslo.

The unnamed men, all Norwegian citizens in their 20s of Iraqi descent, were detained in the Norwegian capital on Wednesday afternoon.

Police lawyer Christian Hatlo told reporters that the brothers were suspected of deliberately attacking the embassy with a powerful improvised explosive device (IED), with the intention of killing or causing serious harm.

None of the three had previously come to the attention of police.

Investigators believe one brother planted the bomb, while the other two played supporting roles in the plot. None had been questioned as of Wednesday’s news conference.

The explosion occurred early Sunday morning at the entrance to the embassy’s consular section in west Oslo.

A US official, speaking to The Associated Press news agency on condition of anonymity given the sensitivity of the investigation, said the device had been hidden inside a backpack.

Witnesses described the street being filled with thick smoke after the explosion. There were no victims. Police are examining whether the attack was carried out on behalf of a foreign government.

“We are still working from several hypotheses,” Hatlo said. “One of them is whether it is an order from a government entity; this is quite natural, given the objective and the security situation that the world finds itself in today.”

A video uploaded to the embassy’s Google Maps page at the time of the explosion, which has since been deleted, appeared to show Iran’s late supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

According to Norwegian public broadcaster NRK, the person who posted it wrote in Farsi: “God is great. We have been victorious.”

Police have opened a separate investigation into the video.

‘Marked’

Alireza Jahangiri, Iran’s ambassador to Norway, denied any involvement on Tuesday, saying in an interview with Norwegian newspaper Verdens Gang that it was “unacceptable” that Iran was “singled out.”

On Wednesday, Norwegian Justice Minister Astri Aas-Hansen welcomed the arrests, describing them as a breakthrough.

The country’s security service, PST, had warned last month that Iran, which it considers a major threat to Norway, could use criminal networks as proxy actors to carry out operations on its behalf.

The attack comes as European nations remain on high alert following a series of incidents related to the escalating conflict in the Middle East, where US and Israeli forces have been carrying out airstrikes against Iran.