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An explosion at the U.S. Embassy in Oslo, Norway, early Sunday may have been a deliberate attack linked to the \u201ccurrent security situation,\u201d the country\u2019s police force has said.
Norwegian police said that they are in the early stages of the investigation and working with “multiple hypotheses.”
“Given the current security situation, it is natural to consider whether this was a targeted attack on the American Embassy,” police spokesperson Frode Larsen said at a news conference. “However, we have not committed to any single hypothesis.”
Since the U.S. and Israel started their military campaign against Iran last week, several U.S. diplomatic facilities have been targeted by Iranian retaliatory strikes, including in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.
Police said they first received reports from neighbors at about 1:03 a.m. of a loud explosion near the embassy.
The blast caused minor damage to the public entrance of the embassy and there were no injuries, police in the Scandinavian nation said.
It was unclear what caused the blast and no one has been arrested in connection with the incident, but police are searching for one or several perpetrators and are cooperating closely with the embassy, Larsen said.
Authorities have deployed \u201cgreat resources\u201d in the area, including dogs, drones and a helicopter, police said.
\u201cOne of our hypotheses is that this is terrorism, but we are also exploring other options,\u201d Larsen later told public broadcaster NRK, according to Reuters.
Justice Minister Astri Aas-Hansen told Norwegian press agency NTB it was an \u201cunacceptable incident that we are taking very seriously.\u201d
No further explosive devices have been found in the area, police said.
Video posted to social media after the explosion showed police vehicles and people in tactical gear outside the embassy.
Anna Gilbo, who lives near the compound, also took video from her home that showed smoke in the distance.
\u201cThere was a loud bang, and the whole house shook,\u201d Gilbo said.
\u201cThere was a very thick layer of smoke on the street,\u201d Sebastian Toerstad, a high school student who was driving past the embassy at the time of the explosion, told the Reuters news agency.
\u201cThere was some damage to the entrance,\u201d Toerstad said.
Neither the embassy nor the State Department immediately responded to requests for more information. The Oslo Police District also did not respond to a request for more details. Police said they have received several tips from the public and are treating the investigation as a high priority.
Camille Behnke is duty producer for NBC News based in London.
Colin Sheeley is a senior reporter for NBC News’ Social Newsgathering team based in New York.
Freddie Clayton is a freelance journalist based in London.\u00a0
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