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Sunday, July 24, 2011

Norway's worst atrocity since World War II

from CNN Coverage of the July 2011 bombing and shooting =
http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/europe/07/23/norway.explosion/index.html
Oslo, Norway (CNN) -- Police in Norway have not ruled out the possibility that more than one person was involved in Friday's twin attacks that left at least 92 dead, officials said Saturday.

"We're not sure it's just one person... based on statements from witnesses, we think there may be more," Acting Police Chief Sveinung Sponheim said.
A 32-year-old Norwegian was arrested and charged with terrorism, but police have not officially released his name. Local media has identified the man as Anders Behring Breivik, who has been described as a right-wing Christian fundamentalist.
"It's very difficult at this point to say whether he was acting alone or whether he was acting as part of a larger network," Sponheim said.  On Saturday the suspect has been talking to authorities, but Sponheim described the day-long interrogations as "difficult."  The fragility of the damaged structures have made it a slow process, he said.
"We know that there are remains of bodies in the ruins of the buildings. And it's a bit of a jigsaw puzzle and a very difficult search. There are body parts in the buildings," Sponheim said.
Seven have been confirmed dead from the bomb attack. Police said that the explosive was in a car.
At least 85 others were killed in a shooting at a youth camp in nearby Utoya island.
Norway's prime minister called it the country's worst atrocity since World War II.
Norway's King Harald also spoke in a televised address.   "There is still a lot that we do not know about yesterday's situations," he said. "This we do know, that the situations in Utoya and Oslo is an attack on the nation. It's an attack on the core of the Norwegian democracy."
Official sources and social media indicate that Breivik might be a right-wing Christian fundamentalist who may have had an issue with Norway's multi-cultural society. The attack may have been politically motivated, one official said.
"I think what we have seen today is that politically motivated violence poses a threat to society and I commend the police for carrying out a very swift and effective investigation, but that is still ongoing," Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Store told reporters.



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