The Day in Norway

Police say seven people have been killed and two are badly wounded after a bomb attack in Oslo, Reuters reports.

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There are separate unconfirmed reports that a gunman has attacked a youth camp outside the city.

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Briton Ben McPherson, who is in Oslo with his wife, says he heard the blast from about a mile away. "It looks quite bad, the assumption is that it has to be terrorism," he tells the BBC.

BBC

Well, of course it is terrorism, but the “assumption” is that it’s al Qaeda or jihad terrorism, isn’t it?

The BBC's security correspondent Gordon Correra says he believes an al-Qaeda influenced group is most likely to be behind the attacks.

I guess that answers that.

The BBC's diplomatic correspondent says the fact a government building was targeted makes one think this could be connected with government decisions on Afghanistan or Libya.

That’s what Glenn Greenwald said, too, and I imagine many, many others assume the same.

Norwegian radio NRK reports that police have arrested one man after the shooting at the Workers' Youth League camp outside Oslo.

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The man arrested after a shooting at the camp in Utoeyais has ties to the bombing in Oslo, police say.

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The New York Times is reporting that the terror group Ansar al-Jihad al-Alami, or the Helpers of the Global Jihad, is claiming responsibilty for the bombing in Oslo.

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Oslo police spokesman Ander Frydenberg has told the BBC the shooter is currently being questioned at a local police station in Utoeya.

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The foreign minister has also confirmed that the man arrested following the shooting on the island is Caucasian.

Ooops. What?

A terrorism expert tells the BBC that Ansar al-Jihad al-Alami, or the Helpers of the Global Jihad, a terror group that claimed responsibility for the explosion in Oslo, was not behind the attack.

Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg is speaking at a press conference in Oslo. "We will find the guilty and hold them responsible," he says.

"No one will bomb us to silence. No one wil shoot us to silence. No one will ever scare us away from beign Norway," Mr Stoltenberg says.

"You will not destroy us. You will not destroy our democracy or our ideals for a better world," Prime Minister Stolenberg adds.

I’d say he’s ready to believe it’s the work of a jihadist.

"We do not wish to confirm or deny any reports of groups taking responsibility for the attacks. We don't want to make the situation seem more serious than it is," the prime minister says.

Backtracking is a mother, isn’t it?

Gordon Corera Security correspondent, BBC News: During the day, after an initial focus on an al-Qaeda link, the possibility of domestic extremism increasingly came into focus. The choice of targets - government buildings and a political youth rally - suggested a possible political agenda rather than the mass casualty approach typically employed by al-Qaeda.

But then…

Frank Gardner BBC security correspondent: It's still very odd what would motivate someone to get hold of so much explosives - enough to devastate the centre of downtown Oslo - then travel 30 to 40 minutes northwest of there and start spraying people indisciminately and mercilessly.

Very odd.

Gordon Corera Security correspondent, BBC News : "Constructing a large car bomb requires a degree of sophistication. The crucial factor for the police will be establishing how many people are behind this attack, whether any are still at large and to whom they might connected."

A BBC News correspondent, the voice of reason. I hope the police are thinking along the same lines. Obviously the PM has a screw loose.

Deputy Oslo police chief Sveining Sponheim tells reporters the man under arrest is 32 and "ethnic Norwegian".

Oh boy. He’s Muslim, isn’t he?

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."

Forbes

Oh, come on. He’s Muslim, right?

The official said the attack "is probably more Norway's Oklahoma City than it is Norway's World Trade Center."

Yeah, okay. We don’t like to talk about Oklahoma City. That was a white boy. And not even Muslim.

The motive was unknown, but both attacks were in areas connected to the ruling Labor Party government. The youth camp, about 20 miles (35 kilometers) northwest of Oslo, is organized by the party's youth wing, and the prime minister had been scheduled to speak there Saturday.

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The blast in Oslo, Norway's capital and the city where the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded, left a square covered in twisted metal, shattered glass and documents expelled from surrounding buildings.

Wait a minute…wait a minute. “Where the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded.” You know what I’m talking about.

"It's a reminder that the entire international community has a stake in preventing this kind of terror from occurring," President Barack Obama said.

Got any suggestions how? Or maybe a mirror, Mr. Nobel Peace Laureate?

....but hey, do what you want....you will anyway.