Norway raises terrorism alert level amid Middle East conflict

PHOTO CAPTION: Security personnel stand during investigation of two blasts near the Israeli embassy in Copenhagen, Denmark, October 2, 2024. Emil Nicolai Helms/Ritzau Scanpix/via REUTERS 

OSLO (Reuters) -Norway has raised its terrorism threat assessment to the second-highest level due to an increased risk of attacks against Jewish and Israeli targets, the national police directorate said on Tuesday.

Last week police in neighbouring Denmark charged two men suspected of detonating hand grenades near Israel's Copenhagen embassy, while police in Sweden are investigating a suspected shooting near the Israeli diplomatic mission in Stockholm.

Norwegian police officers, who are normally unarmed, will now carry guns nationwide as a result of the decision by the PST security service to raise the threat level, the directorate said.

"PST raises the terror threat level in Norway from moderate to high as a result of the ongoing escalation of the conflict in the Middle East," the police said in a statement.

"It is primarily the threat to Jewish and Israeli targets that has been further intensified," the statement said.

The PST risk assessment was raised from level three (moderate) to level four (high), on PST's five-point scale where the top end of the range would indicate imminent danger.

National Police Commissioner Benedicte Bjoernland said there was an increased likelihood of attempted terrorism.

"...we have a number of measures in place to protect the population," she said in a statement.

Sweden in August last year raised its terrorist alert to the second-highest level after Koran burnings outraged Muslims and triggered threats from jihadists.

(Reporting by Terje Solsvik in Oslo, Louise Rasmussen in Copenhagen and Anna Ringstrom in Stockholm, editing by Gwladys Fouche, Ros Russell and Gareth Jones)