Blast at US Embassy in Oslo may have terror motive, Norway police say 

Police in Norway say an explosion at the United States embassy in the capital, Oslo, overnight that caused no injuries and minor material damage may have been an act of terror, but other motives are also being investigated.

“It’s natural to see this in the context of the current security ⁠situation and that this could be an attack deliberately targeting the US embassy,” Frode Larsen, head of the Oslo police investigation unit, told a news conference on Sunday.

“One of our hypotheses is that this is terrorism, but we are also exploring other options,” Larsen later told public broadcaster NRK. “But we are not completely stuck on that. We have to be open to the possibility that there may be other causes behind what has happened.”

People on the scene said the street was blanketed in thick smoke following the blast.

The blast at the embassy compound in western Oslo occurred at 1am local time (00:00 GMT), sending thick smoke into the street by the entrance of the consular section, witnesses said.

No suspects have been identified, but police are searching for one or several perpetrators ‌and are cooperating closely with the embassy, Larsen said.

Norway’s government was in contact with ⁠officials at the embassy to convey that this ⁠was “an unacceptable act that we take very seriously”, Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide said in a statement.

“The security of diplomatic missions is very important to us,” he said.

PST, the Norwegian police security service, called in additional personnel following the incident but has not changed the country’s terror threat level, according to communication adviser Martin Bernsen.

“This is an unacceptable incident that is being treated with the utmost seriousness,” said Astri Aas-Hansen, Norway’s minister of justice and public security.

“The police have stated that they are investigating the case with significant resources, and that nothing indicates the situation poses any danger to the public.”

Police added that they are working to protect the Jewish community in the country following the incident, which came as the US and Israeli forces strike Iran, a conflict that has engulfed several other nations in the Middle East.