Norway police end Utøya search as further 24 victims named The Guardian Police in Norway released the identities of another 24 people killed by Anders Behring Breivik as they ended their search for bodies in the waters surrounding the island where he shot 68 of his 76 victims. The youngest victim was Johannes Buø, 14. ...
Should Italian Politicians Resign over Breivik Comments? International Business Times By Marizio Fortuna | July 28, 2011 2:39 PM EDT Two leading members of Italy's Northern League Party have defended the logic behind Anders Behring Breivik's Oslo massacre. Italian parliamentarians Mario Borghezio and Francesco Speroni both said publicly ...
The Ideological Roots of Christian Terrorism Huffington Post Anders Behring Breivik borrowed Timothy McVeigh's strategy to blow up a public building, but he outdid McVeigh by gunning down dozens of young people at a camp after the explosion. Both were young white Christian men who wanted to provoke a cosmic war ...
Trial for Norway Gunman May Begin in 2012 Wall Street Journal By GUSTAV SANDSTROM Anders Behring Breivik, who has admitted to being behind last week's massacre in Norway that killed 76 people, may be brought to trial in 2012, the head of the Norwegian prosecuting authority told broadcaster NRK Thursday. ...
Millar: Norway murderer's Freemason obsession Calgary Herald By A. Millar July 28, 2011 Anders Behring Breivik leaves an Oslo court Monday in a police car after a judge jailed him under strict conditions for eight weeks. Many media outlets are describing Anders Behring Breivik, the alleged perpetrator of the ...
The Role of Men in Religious Terrorism Huffington Post Since the capture of Anders Behring Breivik, the Oslo terrorist and murderer, at least two critical issues have emerged. The first is his sanity, or lack thereof. The second is that Breivik's assaults may have been ideologically motivated. ...
Norway police end Utøya search as further 24 victims named The Guardian Police in Norway released the identities of another 24 people killed by Anders Behring Breivik as they ended their search for bodies in the waters surrounding the island where he shot 68 of his 76 victims. The youngest victim was Johannes Buø, 14. ...
Should Italian Politicians Resign over Breivik Comments? International Business Times By Marizio Fortuna | July 28, 2011 2:39 PM EDT Two leading members of Italy's Northern League Party have defended the logic behind Anders Behring Breivik's Oslo massacre. Italian parliamentarians Mario Borghezio and Francesco Speroni both said publicly ...
The Ideological Roots of Christian Terrorism Huffington Post Anders Behring Breivik borrowed Timothy McVeigh's strategy to blow up a public building, but he outdid McVeigh by gunning down dozens of young people at a camp after the explosion. Both were young white Christian men who wanted to provoke a cosmic war ...
Trial for Norway Gunman May Begin in 2012 Wall Street Journal By GUSTAV SANDSTROM Anders Behring Breivik, who has admitted to being behind last week's massacre in Norway that killed 76 people, may be brought to trial in 2012, the head of the Norwegian prosecuting authority told broadcaster NRK Thursday. ...
Millar: Norway murderer's Freemason obsession Calgary Herald By A. Millar July 28, 2011 Anders Behring Breivik leaves an Oslo court Monday in a police car after a judge jailed him under strict conditions for eight weeks. Many media outlets are describing Anders Behring Breivik, the alleged perpetrator of the ...
The Role of Men in Religious Terrorism Huffington Post Since the capture of Anders Behring Breivik, the Oslo terrorist and murderer, at least two critical issues have emerged. The first is his sanity, or lack thereof. The second is that Breivik's assaults may have been ideologically motivated. ...
"This is not a critical inquiry, we have a lot of respect for the way that our authorities and our different agencies have handled the operations," he said.
"But we think it's important to go through everything that's happened so that we can learn as much as possible and draw from our experiences."
The BBC's Jon Brain in Oslo says the overall police operation has been criticised, with questions asked about why it took so long and why a helicopter was not available to allow police to get to the island more quickly.
Meanwhile a police union spokesman has announced that 20m Norwegian kroner (2.6m euros; £2.3m) will be released to create 100 new police jobs in areas affected by the attacks.
The prime minister also announced a national memorial, and said the government would contribute to the cost of funerals of the victims.
Relatives and victims would also be entitled to payments from the state under a new law on compensation for victims of crime, he added.
In a statement earlier, Mr Stoltenberg said Norway would not be intimidated or threatened by the attacks and that Norwegians would stand firm in defending their values.
The attacks were directed at Norway's "fundamental values" - democracy and openness - and that the response would be "more democracy, more openness", he said.
He said he expected people to participate more broadly in politics.
Meanwhile, the leader of the police squad who apprehended Mr Breivik on the island has been describing the events.
Haarvard Gaasbakk said it was a "completely normal arrest", and suggested the gunman had surrendered readily.
Police had yelled to the gunman to surrender and, in limited visibility, he suddenly appeared before them with his hands in the air and his weapon 15m away on the ground, Mr Gaasbakk added.
Terrorism charges
Some government employees have begun returning to work, five days after Mr Breivik's powerful home-made bomb ripped through the prime minister's and other buildings in central Oslo.
For the moment, Mr Stoltenberg himself is expected to work from the defence ministry in another part of the city.
It is not clear whether the prime minister's building will be restored or pulled down.
Haavard Gaasbakk: "Suddenly in front of us there was the gunman with his hands above his head"
The authorities have said they believe Mr Breivik acted alone.
Norwegian domestic intelligence chief Janne Kristiansen said no evidence had so far been found linking Anders Behring Breivik with far-right extremists in Norway or elsewhere.
But she added that the possible existence of accomplices was still being investigated.
Police chief Sveinung Sponheim says names of victims will continue to be released at 1800 local time (1600 GMT) each day until all have been identified and all relatives informed.
Mr Breivik is facing terrorism charges and police are considering also charging him with crimes against humanity, which carry a possible 30-year sentence, a prosecutor has said.
He appeared in court on Monday to face charges of destabilising vital functions of society, including government, and causing serious fear in the population.
He accepted responsibility for the attacks but denied the terrorism charges, and was remanded in custody for eight weeks, the first four in full isolation and on suicide watch.
Norway killer: teenager came face to face with Anders Behring Breivik Telegraph.co.uk A teenager spoke face to face with Anders Breivik in the midst of his murder spree on Utøya island and survived to tell the tale. By John Bingham, Oslo Herman Holmøy Heggertveit 18, fled to a beach with a group of teenagers after hearing shots before ...
Norway : Anders Behring Breivik used online war games as 'training' Telegraph.co.uk Anders Behring Breivik emailed his extremist manifesto to a Dutchman he had met while playing an online computer war game that included scenes where players kill unarmed civilians. By Bruno Waterfield Jeroen Rink received the email manifesto announcing ...
Anders Behring Breivik and the 'Anti-Jihadist' Blogosphere The Atlantic (blog) By Conor Friedersdorf Pamella Geller, Robert Spencer and Mark Steyn shouldn't be blamed for the Oslo massacre. But they should temper their rhetorical excesses. Were sympathy a finite resource, this week's ration would belong to the citizens of Norway, ...
Chris Selley's Full Pundit: Norway keeps it cool National Post (blog) Is it just us, or do Norwegians seem be dealing with Anders Behring Breivik's atrocity better than just about everyone else? In the Winnipeg Free Press, Gwynne Dyer bemoans the fact “there will now be thousands of new metal detectors and thousands of ...
Norway Terror Suspect Claims More Active 'Cells', Police Doubtful ABC News By MIGUEL MARQUEZ (@miguelmarquez) and LEE FERRAN This image, digitally altered by the original source to remove background, shows Anders Behring Breivik from a manifesto attributed to him that was discovered Saturday, July 23, 2011. ...
Poland Denies People Detained In Relation To Norway Bombing Wall Street Journal Pawel Bialek, the deputy head of the internal security body ABW, said the agency was analyzing the contents of 1500-page journal of suspect Anders Behring Breivik, especially the parts suggesting some materials necessary for bomb construction could be ...
In the papers - Just who is Anders Behring Breivik? France 24 In the papers - INTERNATIONAL PAPERS, Tues. 26/07/11, The Norwegian attacks continue to make international headlines. Many papers focus on just who is the self-proclaimed killer and whether he had links to other far-right groups in Europe. ...
OSLO, Norway — Norwegian police have released 13 new names of victims who died in deadly twin attacks. where a total of 76 people have been confirmed dead so far.
Wednesday's list includes victims killed in both the bomb attack that tore through the victims of the government district in central Oslo, as well as those that were gunned down in a rampage at a youth camp on the Utoya island.
The youngest person on the list is 14-year old Sharidyn Svebakk-Bohn, who was killed after the attack on the island, and the oldest was 51-year old Anne Lise Holter from Vaaler. Holter died in the bomb blast.
A total of 76 people have been confirmed dead so far.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.
OSLO, Norway (AP) — Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg vowed Wednesday that his countrymen will fight back against the twin terror attacks with "more democracy" and said an independent commission is being formed to investigate the massacre and to help survivors and relatives.
Norwegians will defend themselves by showing they are not afraid of violence and by participating more broadly in politics, he told reporters.
"It's absolutely possible to have an open, democratic, inclusive society, and at the same time have security measures and not be naive," he said.
Stoltenberg underlined his commitment to openness, defending freedom of thought even if includes extremist views such as those held by the 32-year-old Norwegian who confessed to Friday's bomb blast at government headquarters and to the shooting massacre at a Labor Party youth camp hours later. At least 76 people were killed.
"We have to be very clear to distinguish between extreme views, opinions — that's completely legal, legitimate to have. What is not legitimate is to try to implement those extreme views by using violence," he said.
"I think what we have seen is that there is going to be one Norway before and one Norway after July 22," he said. "But I hope and also believe that the Norway we will see after will be more open, a more tolerant society than what we had before."
He later announced the independent commission, saying "it is important to be able to clear up all questions about the attack in order to learn from what happened."
The parties in parliament have agreed to earmark an unspecified amount of money to cover some of the funeral costs, he said. A national memorial will also be created.
The vicious attacks in the placid, liberal country have left Norwegians appalled and shaky, but determined to move forward. Some government workers were planning to return to work in their offices in the buildings where the bomb blasts blew out most windows.
Denmark said Wednesday a 43-year-old Danish woman, Hanne Balch Fjalestad, had died in the attacks, marking the first confirmed foreign death.
She was working as a first aid medic at Utoya island. She leaves behind four children, including a 20-year-old daughter, Anna, who survived the island shooting.
Anders Behring Breivik has confessed to the attacks, saying he was trying to save the Western world from Muslim colonization.
Earlier, the leader of Norway's Delta Force defended the special operations team, saying the breakdown of a boat didn't cause a significant delay in efforts to reach the island.
Police have come under close scrutiny over how long it took them to reach the island after first reports of shots being fired at the island youth camp Friday. Although the island is only about 25 miles (40 kilometers) from the Norwegian capital, police needed 90 minutes to get to the scene.
A media helicopter was already hovering over the island when police arrived. Marius Arnesen, a cameraman for broadcaster NRK who shot video of the massacre at Utoya island, told The Associated Press that his helicopter arrived some time between 6 p.m. and 6:10 p.m. Police say got to the island at 6:25 p.m.
Police were already grappling with the wide damage inflicted in the downtown government quarter. When word of the shooting came, police drove rather than take a helicopter because the crew of the sole chopper available to them was on vacation. Then the first boat they tried to take to the lake island broke down.
Anders Snortheimsmoen told reporters the team immediately jumped into another, better boat. He said his team arrived at the harbor at the same time as local police and the boat mishap caused no delay.
Once they arrived, Snortheimsmoen told the AP, his officers nearly shot Breivik because they feared he might be wearing an explosive belt. The decision was made by a "very narrow margin," he said.
Police later offered a detailed account of Breivik's arrest, saying he surrendered readily. Squad leader Haavard Gaasbakk told reporters police yelled at the gunman when they drew near and the shooter lay down his weapon and held his hands high over his head.
"When we get closer to the place where there's shooting we started to use our voices, yelling 'armed police' to draw the attention to us," Gaasbakk said.
"We come to a forested aread and the suspect stands there right in front of us with his hands high above his head," Gaasback said.
Justice Minister Knut Storberget praised the team at the news conference, saying it had helped "limit the tragedy."
Norwegian media are suggesting that police knew Breivik's identity even before they reached the island, tracing him through a rental car company from which he rented the panel van in which the bomb was planted.
Dag Andre Johansen, Scandinavian CEO of Avis car rental company, told the AP that Breivik had rented two vehicles, including a Volkswagen Crafter van. He said police contacted the company after the bombing and got Breivik's identity confirmed. But he declined to say whether that contact came before Breivik was arrested on the island.
Many in Oslo felt a new twinge of worry on Wednesday morning when parts of the capital's rail and bus complex was evacuated because of a suspicious abandoned suitcase. Police later said no explosives were found and that the evacuation order had been lifted. The Norwegian news agency NTB said a bus driver turned in the alarm after seeing a passenger leave the suitcase and walk into the station at a fast clip.
Police officially released the first four names of victims on Tuesday, and Norwegian media published the names and photos of some of the other victims. At least some were immigrants or their descendants.
Tens of thousands of Norwegians have rejected the suspect's anti-immigrant rhetoric, laying thousands of flowers around the capital in mourning. Entire streets were awash in flowers, and Oslo's florists ran out of roses.
Norway's Crown Prince Haakon and Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere attended a packed memorial Tuesday in the World Islamic Mission mosque in Oslo. After the ceremony, Pakistani-born Imam Najeeb ur Rehman Naz said the massacre had brought Norwegian residents of all backgrounds closer together.
"Everyone realizes that terrorism and this kind of activity doesn't have anything to do with any religion," he told the AP. "They are individuals who can be found in any community who don't represent the majority at all."
Many of those killed were involved in the governing Labor Party, which suspect Breivik rails against in his manifesto for allowing Muslims to immigrate to Norway.
