Explosion in Oslo

[Rhianne]

...and report taken down again!

[DanaC]

Cowardly fuck to target a youth camp. Apparently he was dressed in a police uniform and had them gather around him before he started shooting.

[Undertoad]

This is sport, as we wait for detail on who's responsible. The Times has walked back a little:

According to Will McCants, a terrorism analyst at C.N.A., a research institute, a previously unknown group, Ansar al-Jihad al-Alami, or the Helpers of the Global Jihad, claimed responsibility for the attacks, saying they were a response to the presence of Norwegian forces in Afghanistan and to unspecified insults to the Prophet Muhammad.

But Norwegian television reports later suggested that the group had denied responsibility. In the immediate aftermath of recent terrorist attacks, jihadi forums are often filled with claims and counterclaims that are impossible to independently confirm.

[SamIam]

And another update:

A police official said the 32-year-old ethnic Norwegian suspect arrested at the camp on Utoya island appears to have acted alone in both attacks, and that "it seems like that this is not linked to any international terrorist organizations at all." The official spoke on condition of anonymity because that information had not been officially released by Norway's police.

"It seems it's not Islamic-terror related," the official said. "This seems like a madman's work."

The official said the attack "is probably more Norway's Oklahoma City than it is Norway's World Trade Center." Domestic terrorists carried out the 1995 attack on a federal building in Oklahoma City, while foreign terrorists were responsible for the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.

However the report finishes with:

At least two extremist groups had tried to take credit for the attacks. Many intelligence analysts said they had never heard of Helpers of Global Jihad, which took initial credit. Ansar al-Islam also took credit on some jihadist web sites.

Norway has been grappling with a homegrown terror plot linked to al-Qaida. Two suspects are in jail awaiting charges.

Last week, a Norwegian prosecutor filed terror charges against an Iraqi-born cleric for threatening Norwegian politicians with death if he is deported from the Scandinavian country. The indictment centered on statements that Mullah Krekar — the founder of the Kurdish Islamist group Ansar al-Islam — made to various news media, including American network NBC.

Terrorism has also been a concern in neighboring Denmark since an uproar over cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad six years ago.

@Wolf - why would you be upset over the mention that right wing terrorists might be responsible? Acts of terrorism are more about what a nut case the perp is rather than his preported idealogy.

[Undertoad]

Times update

After the shooting the police seized a 32-year-old Norwegian man on the island, according to the police and Justice Minister Knut Storberget. He was later identified as Anders Behring Breivik and characterized by officials as a right-wing extremist, citing previous writings including on his Facebook page.

The acting police chief, Sveinung Sponheim, said the suspect’s Internet postings “suggest that he has some political traits directed toward the right, and anti-Muslim views, but if that was a motivation for the actual act remains to be seen.”

He said the suspect had also been seen in Oslo before the explosions. The police and other authorities declined to say what the suspect’s motivations might have been, but many speculated that the target was Mr. Stoltenberg’s liberal government.

[Gravdigr]

Originally Posted by Undertoad

Who blows up Norwegians?

I bet it was The Spanish Inquisition.

No one expects The Spanish Inquisition.

[DanaC]

Grav just won the thread lol.

[Gravdigr]

Originally Posted by DanaC

But there's also a possibility it is right-wing terrorists.

Originally Posted by wolf

The right wing is waiting for an apology ...

Originally Posted by Undertoad

...He was later identified as Anders Behring Breivik and characterized by officials as a right-wing extremist...

I ain't sayin' nothin'...I'm just sayin'.

[DanaC]

The thing is, I didn't even mention them first. I mentioned Islamist groups, before I mentioned right-wing extremists.

I think it's fair to say Islamic terror was the first thing we all thought about. Especially given past threats and recent plots. But there is always the possibility of far-right, neo-nazi attacks in Europe and Scandinavia. In some parts there is always the possibility of far-left groups engaging in terrorism. Recently there has been an upsurge in neo-nazi activity across Europe and Scandinavia, so obviously, the next thought after Islamists is neo-nazis.

[tw]

Timothy McVeigh or Osama bin Laden. What is the difference? Only their excuses. Similar people with a similar attitude. You don't see moderates as terrorists attacking airplanes, people, and buildings.

[Spexxvet]

Originally Posted by Gravdigr

I ain't sayin' nothin'...I'm just sayin'.

OK, I'll say it.

Extreme Islamist terrorists are waiting for a .....

Sorry, I can't say it.

I just can't.

[Undertoad]

I think we now understand that this was due to Sarah Palin's violent rhetoric.

[Griff]

I'm pretty sure you're thinking of Granny Palin's hyperbolic cure for teen pregnancy.

[Undertoad]

A Lebanese blogger that I read says this, good point:

Even I, an Arab Muslim, was surprised and had been completely convinced that it was the work of Alqaeda or other fundamentalist Muslims. Does that mean that I am a self hater?

The lesson from Norway is that one shouldn’t rush to conclusions. But that can work both ways. If an observer assumed that the killer was a Muslim extremist, that doesn’t necessarily mean that the observer is a Muslim hater (or self-hater in my case).

Norway was an ideal target for Alqaeda. It was ill prepared for terrorist attacks. It has soldiers fighting in Afghanistan and planes bombing Libya. The terrorism style itself (coordinated attacks in multiple locations) was typical of Alqaeda. The assumption that it was the work of Alqaeda was a completely safe one.

Why am I bringing this up? Because I’m expecting a backlash in the Arab world. Many commentators are going to use this incident to “prove” that Muslims are widely hated in the west. I’m not saying that this is necessarily wrong, I’m just saying that the Norway incident is not a good proof of that.

[footfootfoot]

Originally Posted by DanaC

The thing is, I didn't even mention them first. I mentioned Islamist groups, before I mentioned right-wing extremists.

I think it's fair to say Islamic terror was the first thing we all thought about. Especially given past threats and recent plots. But there is always the possibility of far-right, neo-nazi attacks in Europe and Scandinavia. In some parts there is always the possibility of far-left groups engaging in terrorism. Recently there has been an upsurge in neo-nazi activity across Europe and Scandinavia, so obviously, the next thought after Islamists is neo-nazis.

There you go, resorting to facts again to bolster a weak argument.