OSLO, NORWAY: A loud blast near the U.S. Embassy in Oslo early Sunday morning triggered a major police response, though no injuries were reported, authorities said.
The explosion occurred at approximately 1 a.m. local time in the western part of the Norwegian capital, according to the Oslo police department. In a statement, investigators said it was not immediately clear what caused the blast or who was involved.
“We are in dialogue with the embassy, and there are no reports of any injured persons,” the police statement read.
Eyewitnesses told Norwegian daily Verdens Gang that smoke was seen rising from the area around the embassy compound following the detonation.
The U.S. Embassy has not yet responded to requests for comment outside of regular business hours.
Police have cordoned off the area and are continuing their investigation, but have provided no further details regarding the nature or origin of the explosion.
Meanwhile the Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Ali Larijani, has claimed that several American soldiers have been taken captive during the ongoing fighting over the past week. The statement introduces a significant contradiction to official US accounts of troop casualties .
Larijani, a key figure in Iran’s security establishment, stated that information regarding the capture of American forces had been reported to him. However, he did not specify the number of soldiers in captivity nor provide details about the circumstances or location of their capture.
In his remarks, Larijani directly challenged the narrative presented by the United States, suggesting that Washington is attempting to conceal the true fate of its service members. “The Americans claim that their soldiers have been killed in action,” Larijani said. “America’s efforts to hide the truth will not work, and this truth cannot be hidden for long.”
