(Scanpix Norway/Reuters)
Via the New York Times:
Powerful explosions shook central Oslo on Friday afternoon, blowing out the windows of several government buildings, including one housing the office of the Norwegian prime minister. The Norwegian public broadcaster NRK reported that at least one person was killed and several more injured, but a spokeswoman for the prime minister, Jens Stoltenberg, said he was “safe and not hurt.”
Stunned office staff and civil servants working in the vicinity of the bombed building said at least two explosions could be heard in close succession, as the sound of the blasts echoed across the city. Giant clouds of light-colored smoke continued to rise hundreds of feet into the air over the city as a fire burned in one of the damaged structures, a six-story office building that houses the oil ministry.
The police said that the initial blast occurred at around 3:20 p.m. local time. “We think there was more than one blast,” said Runar Kvernen, spokesman for the National Police Directorate under the Ministry of Justice and Police. Mr. Kvernen said he could not confirm the number of casualties; news reports said at least one or two people had been killed.
There have also been reports of a shooting by someone wearing a police uniform at a youth camp outside of Oslo. It is not clear yet whether there is any connection between the two events.
10:09 AM PT: The shooting has been confirmed. From a local journalist:
There are 700 people on the island camp. At 5.20 pm ambulance personel were told not to proceed out to the island because there was still shooting there. One Labour youth member tweeted: "We are sitting down by the beach. A man is shotting clothed in a police uniform. Help us! When are the police coming to help us!"
Police stormtroopers are about to land on Utoya island from helicopters. Shooting still going on. Eyewitness describes shooting from his position on the mainland: "There is a little war going on out there"