Too close for comfort

Josh Voorhees has a disturbing article in The Slatest about the situation in Oslo. (Rico says he has a dear friend who lives in Oslo, and he has yet to hear from her, thus he's stressing a bit.) There's more here, too, at Mother Jones:

A loud explosion shook central Oslo on Friday, blowing out the windows of several government building including the one housing the Norwegian prime minister's office. There were initial reports of multiple injuries and at least one person has been confirmed dead. According to local television, the prime minister, Jens Stoltenberg, was not in his office at the time of the blast. The exact details surrounding the explosion are still unclear, but police quickly confirmed that the blast was the result of a bomb. Witnesses at the scene reported seeing the wreckage of a car near the blast site, leading to speculation that blast was a car bomb. There have not yet been any terrorist groups stepping forward to claim responsibility for the blast.
The Oslo hospital has reportedly already received at least seven injured, but judging from the rather graphic photos coming in over Twitter and footage being shown on television, more are expected.
The death toll is now at two, according to state broadcaster NRK.
Several local news outlets are reporting that police believe that there may have been two other bombs around Oslo that did not explode. The one small bit of good news is that the blast occurred on a summer Friday afternoon, meaning that fewer people were at their desks at the time of the blast than would have been normally.
A Norwegian government minister tells the BBC that an unknown number of people are still trapped in the buildings near where the bomb went off. The blast was caused by a massive car bomb, a U.S. government source on the ground tells ABC News, which also reports that there was a second, smaller blast somewhere in the city.
Reuters, meanwhile, has a breakdown of the possible groups it could have been; the leading suspect appears to be al-Qaeda.
Police are now urging people to leave central Oslo, the BBC reports. Latest reports have two confirmed dead and fifteen injured. The BBC reports that Norwegian police believe the bomb was the work of a terrorist group, although there is still no word on which one.
Local police also say that shots have been fired at a Labour Party youth meeting near Oslo after the blast in the capital. The gunman was reportedly dressed as a police officer. No word on casualties.
Still too early to know for sure if the youth meeting shooting was part of a coordinated attack, but this sure makes it appear that way. A Norwegian newspaper is reporting that the prime minister had been scheduled to appear at the meeting, which was held on a small island south of Oslo.
Reuters is reporting that at least eleven people have been admitted to the Oslo hospital, many of which are seriously injured. Efforts currently appear focused on evacuating the area, and ensuring that there are no other bombs in the area. Meanwhile, reports on the ground say that at least five people have been injured at the youth camp, where a suspect, dressed as a police officer, opened fire shortly after the blast. The prime minister was not set to appear at that meeting until tomorrow. Authorities have sent an anti-terror unit to the scene and are evacuating the area.
Sky News is reporting that at least four people have been killed at the youth meeting. Police now say that there are "a lot" of casualties from the blast.
Police have arrested one person at the Labour Party youth camp, state TV reports, and now puts the death toll from the camp shooting at five.
Still no word on who is responsible for the blast and/or the youth camp shooting. However, given both attacks appeared to target the ruling Labour Party, and were not necessarily executed in an attempt to maximize civilian casualties, many observers believe the two are connected.
In a sign that the shooting spree at the youth camp on Utoya is still not yet under control, authorities are advising Norwegians not to call people they know who may be on the island for fear "giving the location of those who are hiding in the bushes and elsewhere on the island, to the shooter", the BBC reports. Oslo police now put the confirmed dead at seven from the blast.
Reuters is reporting that British police now fear that there may be explosives somewhere at the site of the youth camp meeting. Police now say they believe the Oslo blast and the youth camp shooting are related. Oslo police say the can not confirm television reports of casualties at the youth camp meeting.
The New York Times is reporting that the terror group, Ansar al-Jihad al-Alami (the Helpers of the Global Jihad), is claiming responsibility for the bombing. "What you see is only the beginning, and there is more to come," the group said in a statement, according to a translation provided to the paper by an independent terror analyst. The claim has not be confirmed, and Norwegian officials have yet to publicly address the report.
The Norwegian prime minister has given a number of phone interviews, but his location is being kept secret. There are unconfirmed reports by local media that the man who police arrested at the youth camp meeting had blond hair and blue eyes. Those reports have some speculating that the attack may have been the work of a domestic group. Regardless, it appears way too early to draw any definitive conclusions.
A witness has told Reuters that he saw at least twenty dead at the youth camp. Police have declined to comment on the report. The Norwegian prime minister has called an emergency crisis meeting of his government for later tonight, the BBC reports.