Norway police defuse explosives in Oslo, suspect arrested

Police in Norway have detonated an explosive found in central Oslo, and a suspect is being held in custody, the police said.

Police chief Vidar Pedersen confirmed that the device, initially described as “bomb-like,” was an explosive. The police Twitter account said bomb disposal experts were deployed to the scene in the Norwegian capital and defused the device.

Police would not give any details about the suspect, or further information about the device.

No injuries have been reported.

Pedersen said the device was found on the street just outside the Groenland underground station and police removed people from bars and restaurants.

Media at the scene said a large part of the city was cordoned off and evacuated, and that shortly later police detonated the device.

“Every restaurant was being closed,” said 23-year-old Malin Myrvold, who witnessed the scene from a fourth-story window. “You could see cops in heavy armour going in every store and restaurant.

“We were trying to see what was going on. The police were screaming at us to get back inside and stay where we were,” she added by telephone.

Oslo’s Groenland area, a multi-ethnic neighbourhood that is home to popular bars and restaurants as well as several mosques, is also where the city’s main police station is located, less than a kilometre away from where the device was found.

Norway was put on high alert after a lorry attack on Friday ploughed into crowds in neighbouring Stockholm, killing four people and wounding 15 in what police said was an apparent terror attack. One man, suspected of being the driver of the truck, has been arrested.

The suspect in Friday's attack, a 39-year-old native of Uzbekistan, has been arrested. It was unclear whether he was also a Swedish citizen or resident or even how long he had been in the country.

The Norwegian incident happened less than a mile from the government buildings that were damaged in a deadly bomb attack carried out by right wing extremist Anders Breivik in 2011. That bomb and a subsequent gun massacre killed a total of 77 people.