Breivik intended to behead ex-PM

Mass killer Anders Behring Breivik yesterday boasted about his plans to behead Norway's revered former Prime Minister and post a video of her decapitation on the internet.

Breivik, 33, told the court he had planned to capture Gro Harlem Brundtland, a respected international figure and leading member of Norway's ruling Labour Party who served as the country's first and only woman Prime Minister in the 1980s.

Brundtland had been a guest at the Labour Party youth camp on Utoya island only hours before Breivik arrived on July 22 and began shooting. Breivik said Brundtland had been a key target. But she was ferried off the island before his arrival.

The right-wing extremist, who has claimed he was part of a crusade against the "Islamification" of Europe, said he had been inspired by al-Qaeda beheading techniques.

He also revealed that he intended to kill all of the nearly 600 young socialists at the camp: "The goal was not to kill 69 people on Utoya. The goal was to kill them all," he said.

Breivik also told the court that his original plan had been to set off three bombs in Oslo, which would have included the Labour Party headquarters and possibly the Royal Palace as additional targets. He conceded that he had restricted himself to making one bomb because the process was more difficult than he thought.

- Independent