Explosion at US Embassy in Oslo causes minor damage
Norwegian police said an explosion hit the US embassy in Oslo, causing minor damage but no injuries. Thick smoke was seen billowing from the area after the incident.
Norwegian police said a large explosion hit the U.S. embassy in Oslo early Sunday morning in what may have been a deliberate attack related to the Middle East crisis, causing minor damage but no injuries.
“Given the current security situation, it is natural to think that this could be a deliberate attack on the US embassy,” Frode Larsen, head of the Oslo Police Investigation Department, told a news conference.
No suspects have been identified at this time, but police are searching for one or more perpetrators and are working closely with the embassy, Larsen said.
“One of our hypotheses is that this is terrorism, but we are also exploring other options,” Larsen later told public broadcaster NRK.
The explosion at the embassy compound in western Oslo occurred at 1 a.m. local time, witnesses said, and thick smoke filled the streets near the consulate’s entrance.
The Norwegian government has contacted U.S. embassy officials to say this is “unacceptable behavior and we take it very seriously,” Foreign Minister Espen Bart Eide said in a statement.
“The security of diplomatic missions is very important to us,” he said.
Oslo police said the explosion occurred at the entrance to the consulate, and witnesses said the entrance was damaged.
“There was a very thick layer of smoke on the street,” said Sebastian Torstad, an 18-year-old high school student who was driving past the embassy at the time of the explosion.
“There was some damage to the entrance,” Torstad told Reuters.
Police said no further explosives were found in the area.
