2014 Norway terror threat
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

On 24 July 2014, a suspected imminent terror attack by
Islamic extremists Islamic extremism, Islamist extremism, or radical Islam, is used in reference to extremist beliefs and behaviors which are associated with the Islamic religion. These are controversial terms with varying definitions, ranging from academic unde ...
targeting Norway was disclosed by Norwegian authorities. The suspected plot prompted a public terror alert announcement and unprecedented short-term security measures being introduced in Norway in late July.


Public announcement

On 24 July, Minister of Justice
Anders Anundsen Anders Anundsen (born 17 November 1975) is a Norwegian politician for the Progress Party who served as Minister of Justice from 2013 to 2016. He was also a member of the Norwegian parliament, representing Vestfold from 2005 to 2017. A jurist by ...
and the Norwegian Police Security Service (PST) went public with information of a suspected imminent terror attack targeting Norway, said to be planned to strike "within days". The date of the suspected attack was reported by news outlets as 28 July, the date of the Muslim holiday
Eid al-Fitr , nickname = Festival of Breaking the Fast, Lesser Eid, Sweet Eid, Sugar Feast , observedby = Muslims , type = Islamic , longtype = Islamic , significance = Commemoration to mark the end of fasting in Ramadan , dat ...
marking the end of
Ramadan , type = islam , longtype = Religious , image = Ramadan montage.jpg , caption=From top, left to right: A crescent moon over Sarıçam, Turkey, marking the beginning of the Islamic month of Ramadan. Ramadan Quran reading in Bandar Torkaman, Iran. ...
. PST confirmed that the suspected terrorists were a group of Syrian Civil War jihadists believed to have already departed Syria. The threat resulted in numerous public buildings including the
Oslo City Hall Oslo City Hall ( no, Oslo rådhus) is a municipal building in Oslo, the capital of Norway. It houses the city council, the city's administration and various other municipal organisations. The building as it stands today was constructed between ...
and the
Royal Palace This is a list of royal palaces, sorted by continent. Africa * Abdin Palace, Cairo * Al-Gawhara Palace, Cairo * Koubbeh Palace, Cairo * Tahra Palace, Cairo * Menelik Palace * Jubilee Palace * Guenete Leul Palace * Imperial Palace- Massa ...
being closed, and increased security being introduced at the borders. The Jewish museums in Oslo and Trondheim decided to close with concerns of being a target following the
Jewish Museum of Belgium shooting On the afternoon of 24 May 2014, a gunman opened fire at the Jewish Museum of Belgium in Brussels, killing four people. Three of them, an Israeli couple on holiday and a French woman, died at the scene. The fourth victim, a Belgian employee of t ...
two months earlier. Armed police were stationed at airports, train stations and border crossings, and security measures were strengthened at public events such as the
Norway Cup The Norway Cup is an international youth football tournament in Oslo, Norway. It has been held annually since 1972, with the exception of 1976 (due to a conflicting arrangement), 2020 and 2021 (due to the COVID-19 Pandemic). It is the world's l ...
. On 31 July Norwegian authorities said that the threat had been reduced and they cancelled the security measures introduced on 24 July. Although not confirmed by PST, the security measures and public announcement were speculated to have averted the terror attack.


Analysis

Reports later surfaced that according to the information gathered, at least three to four known jihadists from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) had planned a terror attack with specific mentions of Norway as a main target. The jihadists were said to be of European origin, and to have Norwegian travel documents. The last known trace of the jihadists was reported to have been their arrival in Athens, the jihadists having been observed at the airport in the city. News outlets later reported that two main suspected plots included jihadists from ISIL either being thought to have planned to attack large gatherings of people with knives, or to have planned to enter a private home and killing a random family, filming the killings and publishing the video online. The latter plot was compared to the beheading-filming plot that was the background for the
2014 Australian counter-terrorism raids On the morning of 18 September 2014, police in Australia carried out the biggest counter-terrorism operation in the nation's history, with over 800 heavily armed officers targeting households in the cities of Sydney and Brisbane. It came days af ...
that occurred around the same time of the reports. According to official statistics, 165,000 people were controlled at Norwegian airports, sea ports and border crossings during the heightened security measures in late July. The controls resulted in seventeen people being denied entry to Norway, eight people being expelled from the country, and five people arrested with suspected ties to the plot.


Aftermath

In November later the same year a majority of political parties agreed to temporarily arm police due to PST deeming the general terror threat in Norway to be heightened (police officers do not normally carry firearms in Norway, which are locked in patrol cars). The temporary arming of police was cancelled in February 2016, after first being cancelled by the
National Police Directorate National Police Directorate ( no, Politidirektoratet) a government agency subordinate to the Ministry of Justice and Public Security which heads the Norwegian Police Service. The directorate is led by the National Police Commissioner (Politidirekt ...
(POD) after PST had deemed the terror threat reduced just hours before the
November 2015 Paris attacks The November 2015 Paris attacks () were a series of coordinated Islamist terrorist attacks that took place on Friday, 13 November 2015 in Paris, France, and the city's northern suburb, Saint-Denis. Beginning at 9:15p.m., three suicide bombers ...
. The
Norwegian Police Federation The Norwegian Police Federation ( no, Politiets Fellesforbund) is the trade union which organizes employees from all levels within the police force. The federation is a member of the Confederation of Unions for Professionals, Norway and the Europe ...
and Minister of Justice Anders Anundsen disagreed with the decision and continue to advocate permanent arming of the police. Police in Oslo again introduced temporary arming of the police and increased patrols after the
2016 Brussels bombings On 22 March 2016, two coordinated terrorist attacks in Brussels, Belgium were carried out by the Islamic State. Three coordinated suicide bombings occurred: two at Brussels Airport in Zaventem, and one at Maalbeek metro station on the Brussels m ...
on 22 March, lasting until 27 March. Opinion polling has shown that a clear majority of Norwegians want continued temporary arming of the police, with the public divided in the middle on making the arming permanent.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Norway terror plot, 2014 Counterterrorism Islamic terrorism and Norway Islamic terrorist incidents in 2014 2014 crimes in Norway Terrorist incidents in Europe in 2014 Failed terrorist attempts in Norway