thedailywhat:

Norway Attacks News Round Up:

Oslo Bombing: A bomb that exploded today near the Oslo offices of Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg claimed the lives of at least 7 people and injured several others, some seriously. The Prime Minister was not in the building at the time and is currently in a safe location.

Summer Camp Shooting: A shooting incident involving a Norwegian-looking gunman disguised as a police officer took place on the island of Utøya at a gathering of the ruling Labour Party’s youth wing, where Stoltenberg was reportedly due to speak tomorrow (former PM Gro Harlem Brundtland was due to attend today). Nine, “perhaps ten” killed, according to police.

Connection: Police believe the attacks are related; AP: Man arrested at Utøya linked to Oslo bombing.

Body Count: The death toll in both incidents is expected to rise, with witnesses reporting at least 20 dead at Utøya youth camp.

Weapon: Some reports suggest the explosion may have been set off by a car bomb; multiple explosions have also been reported; police have asked residents to stay away from the city center for fear that unexploded bombs may be present.

Responsibility: An obscure terrorist group called Ansar al-Jihad al-Alami (Assistants of the Global Jihad) has claimed responsibility for the attacks, calling them retribution for Norway’s “occupation of Afghanistan” as well as “unnamed insults to the Muslim prophet Muhammad”; others have speculated that the attacks, if carried out by al-Qaeda, were likely acts of revenge for the death of Osama bin Laden’s death, involvement in Afghanistan, and/or retaliation for Danish Muhammad cartoons republished in a Norwegian newspaper; an al-Qaeda bomb plot against Norway was uncovered last year.

Reax: President Obama expressed his condolences, adding that the attacks offer “a reminder that the entire community has a stake in preventing this kind of terror from occurring”; Swedish FM: “We are all Norwegians.”

Live Updates: BBC, The Guardian, Alexander Nørstad.

[nyt / newsinenglish / globeandmail / @breakingnews / @reuters / wired / fastcompany / atlantic / photo: latimes.]