http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jul/22/oslo-bomb-suspicion-islamist-militants Norway's role in Afghanistan and its decision to file terrorism charges against a Muslim cleric may explain the Oslo bomb attack Oslo police have confirmed the source of the blast that damaged the prime minister's offices in Oslo was a bomb. The question now is who is likely to be behind it. The most obvious conclusion would be a jihadist group. It has been known for some time that al-Qaida and other related "franchises" – including the most active groups in Yemen – have been trying to develop operations. Which leads to a second question: why Norway? The answer is threefold: In the first instance, with increased levels of security and surveillance in the UK and the US as well as other European capitals, Norway might have been seen as a softer target despite the recent breaking up of an al-Qaida cell in Norway. A more detailed explanation of Norway's problems with al-Qaida were supplied a year ago by the Atlantic magazine in an article by Thomas Hegghammer, a senior fellow at the Norwegian Defence Research Establishment in Oslo, and Dominic Tierney . The article followed the arrest of three men in Norway and Germany for allegedly plotting a terrorist attack involving peroxide explosives. All were Muslim immigrants to Norway. "The first explanation," the article stated, "is Afghanistan. Norway has been part of the International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) in Afghanistan from its foundation in late 2001 ... In late 2007, for example, Ayman al-Zawahiri, al-Qaida's second-in-command, said the group had previously threatened Norway because it participated in the war against the Muslims." However, the article added, "Norway is, at best, a secondary player in Afghanistan. Most of its soldiers are in the northern cities of Meymaneh and Mazar-i-Sharif, a relatively quiet part of the country. And its contingent of 500 personnel is only the 18th largest in the Isaf coalition." A second possible factor behind the attack is a Norwegian newspaper's reprinting in 2006 of a series of Danish cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad, which prompted threats against the country. A third potential explanation is the decision last week by a Norwegian prosecutor to file terror charges against an Iraqi-born cleric for threatening to kill Norwegian politicians if he is deported. The indictment centered on statements that Mullah Krekar, the founder of the Kurdish Islamist group Ansar al-Islam, made to various media, including the American network NBC. A report earlier this year by the Norwegian intelligence noted the increasing risk of a jihadi terrorist attack, with Norwegian citizens reportedly trained in Pakistan, Somalia, Yemen and Afghanistan. "Although few people in Norway support Islamic extremism, there are activities within some groups that could contribute to heightening the security risk in 2011," the report said. Some individuals in Norway have travelled to take part in training or fighting" in countries such as Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somali and Yemen, the report added.
Since your reply is the first one, we don't know yet. But thanks for contributing Spoiler nothing. This is the first major terrorist attack on European soil in years, and the worst terror attack in Norway since World War II. If you don't think this is news worthy of discussion, or if you prefer to keep news under wraps that don't help your view of the world, then so be it.
An armed man apparently simultaneously attacked a youth camp near Oslo, 4 people dead according to first reports. This seems to be some kind of orchestrated attack.
My guess is that this is Gudaffi's work, al-queida generally target's crowded areas, whereas this attack seems like it was after the government of Norway. From what I know Norway had some of their planes used to attack Libya.
I'm waiting on the videotape from the new leader of Al Qaeda to lecture and wave his finger. The video should be released in the next few days I imagine.
I haven't been to Oslo. The people that I've met from there were extremely nice. It's horrible that anyone should have to suffer this unjustified attack and destruction. Hopefully the rebuilding and healing is thorough and handled with grace.
That's what happen when you let this idiots into your country and given them that much freedom. It's time to ship them all out.
Now the Oslo police says they believe it was local terrorism, not international terrorism, which would contradict initial reports that suspected Islamist terrorists (not that that would make Islamist terrorists any better, but this could be an interesting development). Crazy to see this small peaceful island where they held a youth camp, and to think how violence and death can suddenly strike at any time, in the places you would least expect it.
Thanks GlenRice. If confirmed, goes to show that obviously not all terror attacks are committed by militant Islamists, just like McVeigh, there are lunatics of all kinds of races and religions (or non-religions). But noteworthy that some Jihadist organization claimed responsibility...it's like...they didn't do it, but wish it had been them. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/23/world/europe/23oslo.html?_r=1&hp 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. It is not uncommon for terrorist groups to advance claims of responsibility for high-profile attacks, only to have the claims prove to be spurious.
goes to show, huh? looks like someone was eager to post that thread title without having all the info...
While the suspect is reported to be tall, blonde haired and blue eyed that might not mean he isn't a Muslim as there are plenty of Muslim who don't look Arab and Al Qaeda had previously said they were going to use converts and Muslims from Europe to carry out missions. (One reason why I think racial profiling won't work.) Its also possible that the attack on the island might just be a coincidence with the bombing in Oslo. The most that can be said is we really don't know who the perpetrators are and I would be very cautious to jump to conclusions.
That thread title was the title of the first article regarding this incident on Google News, huh? Looks like someone was eager to make a dumbass comment without having clicked on the first link in the thread.
