No one is claiming responsibility and no one is being blamed at this point, but the news wires are citing the terror charges against Mullah Krekar last week and other jihad-related incidents as possible causes. “Explosion rocks Norway government buildings, 1 reported dead,” from the Globe and Mail, July 22 (thanks to all who sent this in):
A powerful explosion tore open several Oslo buildings, including the prime minister’s office on Friday. One person was reportedly killed and several were injured.
The cause of the blast was unknown but the tangled wreckage of a car was outside one building and the damage appeared consistent to witnesses with that from car bombs. Police and fire officials declined comment on the cause.
The blast blew out most windows on the 17-storey building housing Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg’s office, as well as nearby ministries including the oil ministry, which was on fire. Heavy debris littered the streets and smoke rose over the city centre. […]
NATO member Norway has sometimes in the past been threatened by leaders of al-Qaeda for its involvement in Afghanistan. It has also taken part the NATO bombing of Libya, where Muammar Gaddafi has threatened to strike back in Europe.
However, political violence is virtually unknown in the country.
David Lea, Western Europe analyst, at Control Risks said: “It’s very difficult to tell what has happened. There certainly aren’t any domestic Norwegian terrorist groups although there have been some al-Qaeda-linked arrests from time to time.
“They are in Afghanistan and were involved in Libya, but it’s far too soon to draw any conclusions.”
The blast comes as the Scandinavian country has grappled with a series of homegrown terror plots linked to al-Qaida, and six years after an uproar over cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad in neighboring Denmark.
Last week, a Norwegian prosecutor filed terror charges against an Iraqi-born cleric for threatening Norwegian politicians with death if he’s deported from the Nordic country.
The indictment centered on statements that Mullah Krekar “” the founder of the Kurdish Islamist group Ansar al-Islam “” made to various media, including American network NBC.
Danish authorities say they have foiled several terror plots linked to the 2005 newspaper cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad that triggered protests in Muslim countries.
Last month, a Danish appeals court on Wednesday sentenced a Somali man to 10 years in prison for breaking into the home of a cartoonist who caricatured the Prophet Muhammad.
Whose prophet?