TERRORISM IN NORWAY: Anders Behring Breivik and the logic of madness

The case of Anders Breivik in Norway reminds us that the relationship between madness and responsibility is complex

The Oslo and Utoya killer Anders Breivik leaving a courthouse on Monday. His lawyers say he may be deemed insane. Photograph: Allover Norway / Rex Features

The announcement by his lawyers that the Oslo and Utøya killer Anders Breivik may be deemed insane has polarised once again society's preconceptions and prejudices around madness and the question of responsibility.

For some commentators, to be judged insane would exonerate him from responsibility for his actions, as if madness and responsibility were mutually exclusive. For others, madness would only exaggerate responsibility for the killings, as if insanity and violence were indissolubly linked.

The fact that media reports of "mental illness" so often associate it with violent crime means dramatic outbursts become almost what we expect. Perhaps, at some level, we not only expect but also desire it, as if to externalise the latent feelings of violence we all harbour within ourselves. The horror at the Norway massacre was, after all, tinged with fascination. Everyone wanted to know more, see more, hear more.

Breivik's case evokes that of Ernst Wagner, the German schoolmaster who strapped guns to his hands and opened fire on the inhabitants of the village of Mülhausen in September 1913. Demonised by the media, his case was used to intensify hostility towards the "mentally unwell". As Wagner's psychiatrist, Robert Gaupp, pointed out bravely at the time, recognising and explaining his patient's psychosis didn't mean that all psychotic subjects would act in the same way.

Wagner had in fact behaved as a good citizen for at least 20 years before the attack, yet his diaries showed that throughout this time he had been delusional. Like Breivik, the case demonstrated the compatibility of madness and normal life. For many years, Breivik led an uneventful existence – studying, setting up a business, visiting the gym, going out for drinks with friends. He never came to psychiatric attention and there was no spectacular symptomatology, no bizarre behaviour.

Old psychiatry studied these discreet psychoses that fitted in well with society, often never disintegrating into breakdown or crisis. This was a quiet, contained madness, and it allows us to understand Breivik's actions far better than the plethora of diagnostic categories already bandied about by "experts". Paranoia has three classical components. The paranoiac has located a fault or malignancy in the world, he has named it, and has a message to deliver about it. For Breivik, the conviction is that Europe is rotten, that the name of this rottenness is Islam and that it is his mission to expose and excise it.

Whereas many schizophrenic subjects experience an invasion inside their body, the paranoiac situates it outside: there is some badness out there in the world. Where for the schizophrenic the other is often too close, intruding into their body; for the paranoiac, self and other are rigidly separated: the other is outside. And hence the paranoiac subject is always innocent: it's the other's fault.

Paranoia here should be differentiated from paranoid. Anyone can be paranoid, but paranoia as such implies a rigid system of beliefs with explanatory power, according the subject a fixed place in the world: for Breivik, that of the "perfect knight" battling Islam. The other common misunderstanding of paranoia is to assume it always involves persecution. In fact, many paranoiacs locate the malignancy not in a person but in some aspect of the world: a disease; environmental problems; danger to children.

They then spend their lives campaigning to remove this fault, whether it is by medical research, projects in education or environmental science. The most noble and charitable of pursuits thus often share something with the most tyrannical and murderous: to remove an evil presence from the world.

The paranoiac's delusion here can be false but it can equally be absolutely true. The FBI may not be plotting against you, but BP may be responsible for destroying nature on part of the American coast. The madness lies not in the content of the beliefs here but in the person's relation to the belief. If certainty about the belief replaces doubt, we are in the realm of psychosis.

This certainty will often spawn enthusiasm, forming groups or movements. Neurotic people are unsure of their aim in life, and sex, death and existence are open questions. Encountering someone who actually knows the answer to these questions will exert a gravitational effect. Breivik, like many others, will probably attract his followers.

This nuances the old-fashioned idea that the subject is only responsible for a crime if he "knew the difference between right and wrong", since the central feature of paranoia is precisely that the person does know the difference. That, indeed, is why they are psychotic: they harbour not doubt but utter conviction that what they are doing is the right thing.

Extremista noruego y chilena Amelia Grechi: "No tengo culpa de ser la madrina del diablo"

En un manifiesto, el terrorista noruego Anders Behring Breivik reveló su vínculo con una familia chilena. Aquí habla por primera vez la mujer a quien el autor confeso de los 76 crímenes identifica como su madrina de bautizo.

Desde el condominio donde vive en el barrio de Smestad, al oeste de Oslo, Amelia Grechi se escucha nerviosa. Está reticente a hablar sobre el vínculo que tuvo en el pasado con Anders Berhing Breivik, el autor confeso de la masacre más grande en la historia de Noruega desde la Segunda Guerra Mundial.

A las 15.26 del viernes 22 de julio, Breivik hizo estalllar un artefacto explosivo en el centro de Oslo, frente al edificio del Primer Ministro, Jens Stoltenberg. La bomba que instaló al interior de un automóvil ocasionó la muerte a ocho personas. Luego, exactamente dos horas más tarde, este hombre de 32 años se dirigió a la isla de Utoya, donde mató a 68 jóvenes del Partido Laborista que participaban en un campamento de verano.

"¡Qué culpa tengo yo de ser la madrina del diablo!", responde Grechi al teléfono cuando se refiere a quien terminó con la vida de un total de 76 personas de la nación escandinava. "A él hay que olvidarlo y no odiarlo, porque eso es lo que él busca: Ser reconocido", añade .

Hasta ese fatídico viernes, la mujer de 52 años llevaba una vida tranquila, como la mayoría de los 15 mil chilenos que residen en Noruega hace décadas.

Sin embargo, la mención de su nombre en el "manifiesto" que el joven ultranacionalista terminó de escribir poco antes de cometer los crímenes puso fin a la normalidad que ha caracterizado su estadía en el país desde 1982. En el texto, Breivik citó su vínculo con la chilena como ejemplo de su tolerancia y de su lejanía con las ideas del nazismo.

"No soy ni nunca he sido un racista. Mi madrina, Amelia Jiménez, y su marido llegaron a Noruega como refugiados políticos desde Chile. Mirando hacia atrás, entendí que eran marxistas, pero no comprendía esos asuntos en ese entonces. Nuestras dos familias fueron muy cercanas durante mi infancia y juventud (…) Yo pasé mucho tiempo con Raol y Natalie", dice Breivik, en el texto de 1.500 páginas que redactó durante varios años.

Amelia Jiménez es en realidad el nombre de casada de Amelia Grechi Araya. La mujer llegó a Noruega acompañando a su esposo, Raúl Jiménez Romero, un antiguo militante del MIR, a quien se dio asilo político en Oslo, luego de ser torturado y de permanecer preso durante cinco años.

Fue detenido en 1977 en la casa de veraneo que tenía con su familia en Papudo, donde hasta ese momento vivía en forma clandestina. Entonces estaba casado hace dos años con Grechi, y había nacido su hijo mayor Raúl, a quien Breivik recuerda en su manuscrito como "Raol".

En uno de sus intentos por obtener la libertad de su marido, la mujer recurrió en 1982 al ex embajador de Noruega en Chile, Frode Nilsen, quien entonces era conocido por la ayuda que prestaba a los opositores al régimen militar. Fue así como en abril de ese año, el matrimonio logró salir del país y se radicó en la capital de la nación escandinava.

La pareja llegó al barrio de Smestad, donde Grechi vive hasta hoy y donde, además, el destino la cruzaría por primera vez con Anders Breivik.

La chilena entabló amistad con Wenche Behring, la madre del autor confeso de la explosión de Oslo y de la masacre de Utoya. Ambas familias eran vecinas del condominio del sector oeste de la ciudad.

Hoy, desde este mismo lugar, la chilena relata que en ese contexto conoció a Breivik. "Era un niño más que jugaba en el jardín".

Entre los edificios de color mostaza, Anders y su hermana Elisabeth compartían tardes enteras con los hijos del matrimonio chileno: Raúl, Nicole y Natalí.

Los menores estrecharon vínculos hasta entrada la adolescencia. A sus 15 años, el ultraderechista no daba señales de su aversión a una Europa abierta a los inmigrantes. En su manifiesto se define a esa edad como uno de los "más notables hip-hoperos del lado Oeste de Oslo" y como uno de los más "activos artistas del grafiti" en esta ciudad.

Un año antes, la madre de Breivik le había pedido a su vecina y amiga chilena que tuviese como ahijado al joven. "Sí, efectivamente, yo fui su madrina en la ceremonia de confirmación, por entonces él tenía 14 años", aclara Amelia Grechi desde Noruega.

En 1999 hubo un punto de inflexión en la vida de ambas familias. Con 20 años, de acuerdo al propio Breivik, se convenció de planear una embestida contra el multiculturalismo europeo. En su "manifiesto" explica que su decisión fue gatillada por el apoyo que dio Noruega el ataque de la OTAN contra los nacionalistas serbios en la guerra de Kosovo.

Tres años antes ya había mostrado un progresivo cambio. Dejó atrás su vida de hip-hopero para ingresar a las juventudes del Partido Progresista, un referente de extrema derecha, al cual adhirió, según dice en su texto, por su posición "contraria a los inmigrantes y "por su defensa del libre mercado".

Su radicalización coincidió con el alejamiento definitivo de su padre, Jens Breivik. El autor de la masacre no vivía con él: se había separado de su madre cuando tenía un año de edad.

La compleja relación entre padre e hijo quedó de manifiesto en las declaraciones que hizo Jens tras los atentados perpretados por su hijo. "Creo que en última instancia debería haberse suicidado antes de matar a tanta gente", afirmó esta semana en una entrevista desde Francia, donde reside.

Los Jiménez-Grechi, por su parte, también experimentaron un cambio en 1999. En un acto que otros chilenos en Oslo califican como poco común, la mujer y su familia salieron de su anonimato como exiliados para contar su historia en el programa de televisión "Tore pa Sporet" (Tore tras la huella). En este espacio testimonial, Raúl Jiménez aceptó mostrar el reencuentro con sus parientes en Chile, después de 18 años de exilio.

Una cámara de televisión lo acompañó desde que aterrizó en el aeropuerto Arturo Merino Benítez. Allí lo esperaban con carteles en mano varios de sus familiares más cercanos. Luego, lo siguieron al cementerio, donde está enterrado su padre, quien falleció en 1985 mientras su hijo estaba en Noruega. Jiménez también visitó su casa natal en Independencia y en la calle Olivos de esa comuna, Marco, su hermano menor, organizó un asado con sus amigos de infancia.

En el reportaje, el ex mirista realizó un recorrido por los lugares donde estuvo detenido tras el golpe militar. Es así como en el programa se muestra al chileno frente al edificio de la Policía de Investigaciones, ubicado en General Mackenna. Ahí relata que fue torturado. También el presentador y su entrevistado entraron a un sitio eriazo, donde entonces se ubicaba la Cárcel Pública. En esta escena, Jiménez recordó que el lugar era un infierno y que a varios de sus amigos los vio por última vez en ese lugar, antes de que desaparecieran. "Todavía puedo escuchar sus gritos", recordó el chileno en el video.

Su esposa no viajó a Chile en esa oportunidad. Sin embargo, apareció en las imágenes junto a sus tres hijos en el condominio de Smestad. Allí celebraron el cumpleaños de Natalí, a quien Breivik también nombra como una de sus amigas extranjeras en el texto de su autoría.

En el testimonio televisivo, la chilena sostuvo que "durante seis años tuvimos todo listo para regresar al país". Era el tiempo en que creía que el régimen militar terminaría pronto. Con el paso de los años, sin embargo, se convenció de quedarse en forma definitiva en Oslo.

"No creo que pueda vivir con tranquilidad en Chile, porque siempre hubiese temido que algo le pudiese pasar a Raúl", afirmó Amelia Grechi en el espacio de televisión, grabado en 1999.

Grechi volvió a saber de su ahijado la noche del viernes 22 de julio, cuando se informaba que un hombre de 32 años, rubio, alto y robusto, era el principal sospechoso de los crímenes cometidos durante ese día.

Su nombre era Anders Behring Breivik, de quien era madrina de bautizo. Quedó desconcertada. Por las pantallas de la televisión noruega se transmitían las imágenes de los lugares en que cometió los atentados. Con el paso de las horas, además, se fueron conociendo los testimonios de los jóvenes que sobrevivieron al tiroteo en la isla. "Alguien que nadaba delante de mí fue alcanzado por un disparo. Vi chorros de sangre y me puse a nadar más rápido. Luego vi a un amigo que estaba a punto de saltar al agua, cuando le dispararon. A esa distancia lo pude oír y ver. Fueron dos balazos en la cabeza", contaba Emma Martinovic, una de las muchachas que, a pesar de sus heridas a bala en un brazo, logró huir de Breivik.

El asombro e impacto inicial de la mujer chilena se transformó más tarde en angustia. En el manuscrito del asesino, su nombre y el de dos de su dos hijos aparecían vinculados a él.

Desde ese momento, la presión por conocer su identidad y su testimonio se hizo insostenible para Grechi.

Los chilenos en Oslo se han preocupado de protegerla e impedir que sea ubicada por la prensa. Tanto la mujer como sus tres hijos no quieren recordar a Breivik. Ni menos que se les asocie con él.

La chilena dice no saber nada del ultraderechista noruego desde que era un adolescente. "De él y su familia no tengo noticias hace 15 años, cuando se fueron del condominio. Desconozco todo acerca de su juventud y menos idea tengo de quiénes podían ser sus amistades", señala al teléfono.

Su otrora vecino en Smestad está detenido bajo un régimen de máximo aislamiento. Tiene vigilancia directa las 24 horas del día para evitar un intento de suicidio y será sometido a un examen siquiátrico a fin de constatar si es o no imputable. En este caso arriesga una pena de hasta 30 años por crímenes de lesa humanidad. El juicio comenzará en 2012.

Mientras tanto, Amelia Grechi espera que pase pronto el interés en la historia de su familia. Su principal motivación, afirma desde Oslo, es no perder el espacio que ha ganado como inmigrante en Noruega desde 1982.

TERRORISM IN NORWAY: Blast hits government buildings in Oslo, Norway; shooter arrested at youth camp

[Update: 3:08 p.m. ET, 9:08 p.m. Oslo] Oslo University Hospital confirmed they have 11 people seriously wounded from the attack in downtown in the hospital.


They also now have eight people wounded from the shooting on the island. The hospital could not provide the condition of those eight people.

[Update: 3:08 p.m. ET, 9:08 p.m. Oslo] Emily Anderson of Fargo, North Dakota, was in a store a block from the blast with a younger sister and a younger cousin.

“You could see tons of smoke pouring out of this building. It was extremely loud. Two actual noises. We just took off. Nobody knew what was going on," she told CNN. "Everybody was standing around in shock. My instinct was to grab the girls and run back to the hotel to be with the family. We made it back to the hotel in a minute. I thought we were going to die. It was scary. It felt like 9/11.”

Four blocks away, Dawn Lubka was in her hotel room at the Comfort Hotel Børsparken when the blast went off. At first she just assumed it was a construction accident, as there are lots of new buildings and a new opera center going up on the block. When she talked to the concierge and looked online, she found out what had really happened.


“I asked the concierge, politically, why would they have bombings here?" she she told CNN after submitting an iReport. "The Norwegians couldn’t believe that it could be a bombing in their city. He said, honestly, ‘It’s because we’re friends with you. Because [Norway] is helping with troops in Afghanistan.’”

[Update: 2:39 p.m. ET, 8:39 p.m. Oslo] U.S. President Barack Obama extended his condolences to the victims of the violence in Norway on Friday, saying the incidents are "a reminder that the entire international community has a stake in preventing this kind of terror from occurring."

Obama said the United States is prepared to assist in Norway's response to the violence.

"Our hearts go out to them," he said.

[Update: 2:37 p.m. ET, 8:37 p.m. Oslo] Jane Owen, the British ambassador to Norway, told CNN that the attacks today signifies a new reality for the country.

"Like many other countries, Norway has been working to combat the risk of terrorism," she said. "But as we all have experienced, you can never be totally prepared for the horror and tragedy that unfolds when you have a major terror incident."

[Update: 1:58 p.m. ET, 7:58 p.m. Oslo] Seven people were killed in an explosion in downtown Oslo, Norway, on Friday, police said. Two people were severely injured, they said.

[Update: 1:46 p.m. ET, 7:46 p.m. Oslo] Fabian Stang, the mayor of Oslo, Norway told CNN that "this situation is under control, but it's been a terrible day."

"Today we think about the people in all other parts of the world who have been in the same situation," Stang said. "We are of course shocked."

He confirmed police reports that there was a bomb attack, but said they were unsure if it was a terror attack.

"It's a terrible situation" either way, he said.

Stang said he was also distraught about the shooting at the youth camp where young people had been killed.

"They are 16, 17 years old and they should not be treated like that," he said of some victims.

Stang said while he felt in some ways the city had been under attack, Oslo would prevail.

"We will take the city back," he said.

[Update: 1:54 p.m. ET, 7:54 p.m. Oslo] Two people are confirmed dead and 15 injured in an explosion in central Oslo on Friday, police told CNN on Friday. Police are urging the public to limit the use of cell phones in order to keep networks free.

A political adviser for Norway's Labour Party told CNN that Norwegian media were reporting that seven people were killed and more very badly wounded.

[Update: 1:46 p.m. ET, 7:46 p.m. Oslo] NATO's Secretary General strongly condemned the attack in Norway.

"On behalf of NATO, I condemn in the strongest possible terms the heinous acts of violence in Norway. I would like to convey my sincere condolences to the Norwegian government, the Norwegian people and the families and loved ones of all those who suffered in these cruel and cowardly acts," the statement said. "Our solidarity with Norway remains steadfast. NATO countries stand united in the battle against these acts of violence."

[Update: 1:38 p.m. ET, 7:38 p.m. Oslo] The police have good reason to believe there is a link between the shooting on an island where a Labour Party youth camp was taking place and an explosion in central Oslo earlier, police spokesman Bjorn Erik Sem-Jacobsen tells Norwegian state broadcaster NRK.

He is the spokesman for the police station nearest to Utoya island, where the camp is being held. The prime minister, whose office was badly damaged by the blast, leads Norway's Labour Party.

[Update: 1:30 p.m. ET, 7:30 p.m. Oslo] Morten Vaage was about 800 meters away from the explosion in Oslo when it happened. Before that, he’d been at a parade to welcome his brother and other soldiers back from Afghanistan.


“The Norwegian Defense Minister was there to address the soldiers, and emphasized how lucky we are to live in this country of Norway, where we are safe and free. She emphasized how much our effort means in order to build a safe and free country in Afghanistan, and again linked this to our good life in Norway,” Vaage, an iReporter said, noting the sharp contrast between her words and the subsequent explosion.

It did not feel like Norway,” he said. “I heard the explosion and the whole central [train] station shook...people were shocked, some were crying, some were bleeding."


[Update: 1:23 p.m. ET, 7:23 p.m. Oslo] One person has been arrested on a Norwegian island where someone dressed as a policeman has been firing at a Labour Youth Party Camp, a police representative tells Norwegian state broadcaster NRK. Witnesses tell NRK the scene is chaotic and many shots have been fired.

[Update: 1:10 p.m. ET, 7:10 p.m. Oslo] NRK journalist Linda Reinholdsen told CNN she was told many of the youth have been evacuated from the mainland island where a shooter has opened fire. But not much more detail than that is known.

Reinholdsen also said that there is an indication that the death toll may climb from the blasts.

"There are still a lot of people dead inside the government building,” she said. “There are going to be a lot of people injured, a lot of people dead.”

[Update: 1:08 p.m. ET, 7:08 p.m. Oslo] Heide Bronke, a State Department Spokesperson, said the U.S. condemns "these despicable acts of violence."


"We are continuing to monitor the situation, including the safety and security of U.S. citizens," Bronke said. "Our hearts are with the victims and their families, and we have reached out to the Norwegian Government to express our condolences."

The U.S. has no confirmation of U.S. citizens who were hurt, she said.

[Update: 1:05 p.m. ET, 7:05 p.m. Oslo] National Security Council spokesman Tommy Vietor tells CNN: “The president was briefed on the explosion and reported shootings in Oslo by Deputy National Security Adviser for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism John Brennan.

[Update: 12:51 p.m. ET, 6:51 p.m. Oslo] iReporter Ulrik Fredrik Thyve said he was in his office when the blast occurred.

“The explosion was immense. My office felt like it contracted, expanded and windows were blown all over the building. Dust, smoke, people [were] bleeding everywhere. I walked out and towards ground zero to see if there was anything to do,” he said.

Thyve, who is also a freelance photographer, took some pictures of the area.

“Police evacuated us all,” he said.

[Update: 12:50 p.m. ET, 6:50 p.m. Oslo] A person dressed as a policeman has fired shots at the Labour Party Youth Camp on Utoya Island in Norway, Norwegian state broadcaster NRK and the press representative for the Norwegian state secretary said Friday. Many people are injured.

NRK says the shooting is continuing. It says there are about 700 people at the camp.

[Update: 12:48 p.m. ET, 6:48 p.m. Oslo] Shots were fired at an Oslo youth meeting following the blast, police told Reuters, quoted by CNN TV. No further details were available.


A reporter with State TV broadcaster NRK is reporting that there is mass confusion within the city. The cause of the blast remains unknown, and no one has claimed responsibility.

CNN terrorism analyst Paul Cruickshank said it was far too early to draw any conclusions on whether it was terrorism and who would carry it out. But, he said, by looking at the extent of the damage, it was plain to see the hallmarks of a major attack.

Cruickshank said that in recent months, there had been increased "chatter" about Norway, which had been investigating militants suspected of being linked to al Qaeda.

Norway also drew the ire of al Qaeda for publishing the controversial political cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed that appeared in a Danish newspaper and sparked outrage in the militant Islamic community.

The Scandinavian country also plays a part in NATO's operation in Afghanistan, and now, in Libya.

Norway has been largely spared from terrorism. But last December, an attempted suicide bombing in Stockholm shocked neighboring Sweden.

In July of last year, Norwegian authorities announced the arrests of three suspects in connection with an investigation into terrorist plots in New York and the United Kingdom.

The three were suspected of plotting terrorist attacks and having connections to al Qaeda, the prime minister's office said at the time.

Stoltenberg, who has been prime minister since October 2005, heads a coalition government made up of the Labour Party, the Socialist Left Party and the Centre Party.

[Update: 12:31 p.m. ET, 6:31 p.m. Oslo] iReporter Ian Dutton of New York told CNN when the explosion occurred he was sleeping in his hotel room. "The concussion was [such] that I felt like my bed was struck by lightning … I thought it was an earthquake but Norway is not prone to earthquakes," he said.

He said immediately after the blast, people on the streets seemed stunned.“There wasn’t even initial panic, but more of a shock or ‘how could this be?” he said.

The streets in the blast zone were strangely quiet after the commotion, he said. "Generally it’s a pretty-hopping downtown area, but not now," he said. "The bystanders are being kept quite a distance away."

[Update: 12:08 p.m. ET, 6:08 p.m. Oslo] Asgeir Ueland, a journalist with Norwegian state broadcaster, said as soon as the explosion occurred it smelled like a burned tire and he knew it wasn't just a gas explosion.


"I knew right away it was an explosion," Ueland told CNN.

Ueland, who said he has reported in the Middle East, compared attacks he has seen there to what he experienced Friday in Norway.
"This was bigger than anything I've seen," he said of other blasts he's seen.

Ueland described the reaction as groups of people in a state of shock.

"There were a lot of people running away crying and screaming," Ueland said.

[Update: 12:02 a.m. ET, 6:02 p.m. Oslo] Joakim Vars Nilsem told CNN that after the blast many people in Oslo were simply in panic and trying to figure out if there was an attack or an explosion going on.


“First of all we just felt tremendous pressure … people were just in shock … they didn’t understand where it was," he said. "People are trying to be calm … we just don’t know what happened right now.”

[Update: 11:53 a.m. ET, 5:53 p.m. Oslo] Ian Dutton, an airline pilot who arrived in Oslo Friday, heard a powerful blast and observed the aftermath from the vantage point of his 28th floor hotel room.

"It rocked me out of bed," he said.

Dutton, who lives in New York City, said that the scene reminded him of what he witnesses on September 11, 2001 there.

"Seeing the emergency response gives me that same feeling in my spine of being in someone's crosshairs," he said.


Ian Dutton, an iReporter, took this photo of the blast in Norway from his hotel room.

The building that suffered the explosion had a heliport on its roof, and now had beams hanging from it, Dutton, an iReporter, said. Most of the windows were blown off and curtains were dangling.

"I can see the warped metal of the building," he said.

There was a line of yellow ambulances by the scene, and a police cordon that kept onlookers back.

"I didn't know Oslo had so many ambulances," he said.

[Update: 11:46 a.m. ET, 5:46 p.m. Oslo] Jon Martin Larsen, head of media for the Norwegian Red Cross, told CNN: "The Norwegian Red Cross has established its own crisis team and is in contact with the municipality of Oslo and the police, ready to assist with whatever they need of first aiders, rescue teams, ambulance or caretakers either in the city center or at the hospitals."

[Update: 11:23 a.m. ET, 5:23 p.m. Oslo] A bomb exploded in a government area, a press officer at Oslo Police Station confirmed to CNN.

“There has been a bomb explosion in the government area," the officer said. "At least one person is dead and a number of people are injured, we don’t have the exact number yet."

Medics treat some of the injured at the scene of an explosion in Oslo, Norway.

But that spokesperson said so far they don't know what the cause was.

"We don’t know if this comes from a terrorist action, we don’t know yet. We don’t know exactly how many explosions were yet," the spokesperson said. "Oslo Center has been evacuated."

People rush to help what appears to be an injured woman after a blast in Oslo, Norway.

A U.S. official says it is too soon to tell what caused the explosion in Oslo or whether it is a terrorist attack. The possibility of terrorism is always a concern because of the ongoing threat from al Qaeda to launch attacks in Europe.

[Update: 11:21 a.m. ET, 5:21 p.m. Oslo] Hans Kristian Amundsen, state secretary of Norway, said the country's prime minister was safe and working at an undisclosed location.

[Update: 11:03 a.m. ET, 5:03 p.m. Oslo] Norwegian state broadcaster NRK says at least one person has died after a huge explosion rocked the center of the capital, Oslo. Dozens more are being treated in hospitals, NRK said, and all roads leading to the center of Oslo have been blocked.

A photo posted on Twitter via photo service Yfrog.com shows damage from a blast in Norway.

[Update: 11:00 a.m. ET, 5:00 p.m. Oslo] A hotel worker in Oslo's Grand Hotel, about a five-minute walk from the government building, said everyone in the hotel felt and heard the explosion, which felt like someone was shaking the entire building.

"It's crazy," she said, not wanting to be identified because she is not authorized to speak to the media on behalf of the hotel. "This happens in the big world, not in Oslo. I'm shocked."

Vivian Paulsen, media adviser for the Norwegian Red Cross, lives 20 minutes away from the center of Oslo in the northern outskirts of the city. She said she heard a "huge blast."

"I heard the big bang, I didn't think it was anything serious. I can still see smoke coming up from the place," she said, watching from her apartment balcony. She also heard sirens and ambulances.

As for Oslo, she said what others have been saying: Events like this don't happen in the northern European capital.

"There's occasional arrests of terror suspects we read about in the paper, or people planning something. I can hear ambulances and sirens."

[Update: 10:48 a.m. ET, 4:48 p.m. Oslo] Nick Soubiea, an American-Swedish tourist in Oslo, told CNN he was less than 100 yards from the blast, which he described as deafening.

"It was almost in slow motion, like a big wave that almost knocked us off our chairs," he said. "It was extremely frightening."

He said the streets were crowded with people trying to get away from the center of the city. "There are people running down the streets, people crying, everyone's on their cell phones calling home," he said.
Crowds evacuate from downtown Oslo, Norway after an explosion.

[Update: 10:47 a.m. ET, 4:47 p.m. Oslo] A spokesperson for the Legevakten Hospital in Oslo, Norway confirmed the blasts in the downtown area but said they weren't sure how bad it was.

"Right now we are not too sure what has happened, we are watching the news and talking to the other hospitals," the spokesperson said. "We don’t know what caused it or how many people are injured."

[Update: 10:36 a.m. ET, 4:36 p.m. Oslo] One explosion happened near a government building housing the office of Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg, said the reporter, Linda Reinholdsen. Another hit near the Norwegian parliament, she said.

A photo posted on Twitpic and then on Twitter shows damage from the blasts in Norway.

Several buildings in Oslo were on fire, she said, and smoke was pouring from them.

Gibbs, the journalist with Reuters, said he believes one explosion happened on an upper floor of a main government building. He said it blew out every window on the side of the building where the blast occurred.

One of the blasts damaged the Oil Ministry and left it in flames, he said.

[Update: 10:16 a.m. ET, 4:16 p.m. Oslo] At least one of the explosions happened near some government buildings, said Walter Gibbs, a journalist with Reuters. He said he saw eight injured people, including two or three with serious wounds and one who looked dead. Reuters reported that the prime minister was safe.

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[Update: 10:11 a.m. ET, 4: 11 p.m Oslo] A second blast was heard in central Oslo shortly after an initial explosion rocked the city, a reporter for Norwegian state broadcaster NRK told CNN Friday. Linda Reinholdsen said there was a state of confusion in the city and several government buildings were affected.

[10 a.m. ET, 4 p.m. Oslo] An explosion rocked a part of central Oslo, Norway, on Friday, state TV reported. State TV broadcaster NRK said on its website that windows in several buildings had been blown out and people were in the street bleeding. News reports suggest the government building has been affected.

TERRORISMO EN NORUEGA: sufre dos atentados en dos horas que dejan hasta el momento 11 muertos y 15 heridos

The New York Times asegura que el grupo terrorista islámico Ansar al Jihad al Alami o la Jihad Global se adjudicó el atentado en Oslo.

A las 9.20, hora de Canadá, dos estallidos sacudieron en el centro gubernamental de Oslo y la oficinas del primer ministro, Jens Stoltenberg, quien resultó ileso.

A las 11.30, un sujeto inició un tiroteo en la Utoya, donde el jefe de estado tenía programado realizar un acto ante las juventudes socialistas

Hasta el momento, la policía investiga los vínculos con ambos hechos, mientras grupos de rescate sigue trabajando en el centro administrativo de la capital.

El grupo terrorista, Ansar al-Jihad al-Alami, o la Jihad Global, se atribuyó la responsabilidad del atentado perpetrado en el barrio gubernamental en pleno centro de Oslo, donde murieron al menos siete personas y 15 resultaron heridas.

Así lo afirma el diario The New York Times en su edición digital y cita como fuente de la información a Will MacCants, un analista de terrorismo.

Según el mensaje del grupo la razón de su accionar es en respuesta al despliegue de tropas noruegas en Afganistán e insultos al profeta Mahoma. De acuerdo con el diario, la organización advirtió que habrían más ataques del perpetrado en Suecia, en diciembre de 2010.

"Lo que se ve es sólo el comienzo, y hay más por venir", habría sostendio el grupo a través de un comunicado.

Noruega es miembro de la alianza de la OTAN y cuenta con contingente militar en Afganistán. Fue uno de los países nombrados por Ayman al-Zawahri, el líder de Al Qaeda, como posibles objetivos de ataques.

En 2006, los periódicos noruegos reprodujeron las caricaturas de Mahoma que enfurecieron a los musulmanes por satirizarlo, según ellos.

Noruega también ha sido históricamente un participante frecuente en las misiones de mantenimiento de la paz y una serie de conversaciones diplomáticas, incluyendo los Acuerdos de Oslo de 1993 entre Israel y los palestinos.

ATENTADOS

Noruega fue sacudida por dos atentados en poco más de dos horas, que hasta el momento dejan al menos 11 muertos y 15 heridos.

El primer atentado afectó al complejo gubernamental de Oslo, en el centro de Noruega, tras estallar, al menos, dos autos bomba.

La explosión, que se produjo sobre las 15.20 hora local (9.20 de Chile), afectó a las oficinas del primer ministro, Jens Stoltenberg, que resultó ileso, según medios noruegos.

La policía cortó el tránsito y acordonó la zona, mientras se evacúan las dependencias gubernamentales aledañas y se atiende a los numerosos heridos.

El edificio que alberga las oficinas del primer ministro resultó seriamente afectado, junto con otros inmuebles vecinos, donde saltaron por los aires los cristales de las ventanas.

Entre los inmuebles afectados se encuentra asimismo el del popular diario noruego "VG".

Tras la explosión se registraron escenas de pánico por las calles, con personas corriendo, algunas de ellas ensangrentadas.

Imágenes de la televisión noruega mostraron dichas escenas de caos en el centro del distrito gubernamental, mientras diversos medios locales informan de la existencia de un automóvil destrozado, donde podría haber sido depositado el artefacto, estacionado ante uno de los edificios afectados.

"Veo que algunas ventanas del edificio de VG y la sede del gobierno están rotas. Algunas personas cubiertas de sangre se encuentra en la calle. Es un caos completo aquí", narró el periodista de la cadena NRK, Ingunn Andersen.

El segundo atentado llegó a las 11.30 de Canadá, cuando un sujeto inició un tiroteo en Utoya, donde se desarrollaba el congreso de las juventudes del partido socialista y donde el primer ministo tenía programado un acto. Hasta el momento hay cinco muertos por este hecho.