OSLO — Police in Norway have been investigating an explosion early Sunday outdoors the U.S. Embassy in Oslo, the capital of the Scandinavian nation, officers stated.
No accidents have been reported. Police acquired stories of a “loud bang” or explosion round 1 a.m., Oslo police stated in a information launch.
The explosion was brought on by some form of incendiary system, based on Frode Larsen, chief of the Oslo police joint unit for investigation and intelligence. Investigators imagine the embassy was the goal and are trying to find the perpetrators and their motive.
Larsen stated that the embassy’s entrance had injury, however no arrests have been made.
“We’re early within the investigation, however we’re working based mostly on a number of hypotheses,” Larsen stated in an announcement. “Given the present safety state of affairs, it’s pure to think about whether or not this was a focused assault on the American Embassy. Nonetheless, we have now not dedicated to any single speculation.”
Native media reported that folks close by stated that the road was blanketed in thick smoke following the blast. Police are in search of to speak to witnesses.
PST, the Norwegian police safety service, known as in extra personnel following the incident, however hasn’t modified the nation’s terror menace degree, based on communication adviser Martin Bernsen.
“That is an unacceptable incident that’s being handled with the utmost seriousness,” stated Astri Aas-Hansen, Norway’s minister of justice and public safety.
“The police have said that they’re investigating the case with important sources, and that nothing signifies the state of affairs poses any hazard to the general public.”
The U.S. Embassy in Oslo referred media queries to the U.S. State Division, which did not instantly return a request for remark. Nor did Oslo police. Different particulars weren’t out there.
