Explosion at US embassy in Oslo, no injuries, police say

Oslo's waterfront in Norway. Police say a blast hit the entrance of the US embassy’s consular section. Photo / Unsplash

Norwegian police reported an explosion at the United States embassy today in the capital, Oslo, but said there were no casualties.

The explosion occurred at around 1am local time Oslo police said in a statement, adding that the cause was not known.

Public broadcaster NRK quoted police incident commander Michael Delmer as saying the blast hit the entrance of the embassy’s consular section.

“At around 1am we received several reports of an explosion. We arrived shortly afterward and confirmed that there had been an explosion that hit the US embassy,” he told NRK.

“There is minor damage,” he said.

“We are not going to comment on anything related to the type of damage, what it is that has exploded and similar details, beyond the fact that there has been an explosion” because “it is very early in the investigation”, he said.

The police statement said investigators were in contact with the embassy about the incident and there was a huge police deployment on site.

Residents near the embassy said they heard a loud blast.

A 16-year-old identified only as Edvard told TV2 that he was watching television when he heard the blast.

“My mother and I first thought it came from our house, so we looked around a little, but then we saw the flashing lights outside the window and a ton of police,” he said.

“There were police dogs and drones and police with automatic weapons and helicopters in the air,” he said.

US embassies have been placed on high alert in the Middle East over American military operations in Iran and several have faced attacks as Tehran hits back at industrial and diplomatic targets.

Police gave no indication the incident near the embassy in Oslo was connected to the conflict.

-Agence France-Presse