Norway: Terror threat or attack on nation 'likely'

COPENHAGEN — Norwegian intelligence authorities said yesterday that the Nordic country "likely" will be threatened by or hit with an act of terror in the next 12 months.

The Joint Counter Terror Center says extremists from the Islamic State group, among others, have called for terror acts against countries that are part of the US-led alliance against the group. Norway has said it will send 120 soldiers to join the international campaign against Islamic militants in Iraq and help train local troops there.

The center says the country's military, police and political decision-makers could be "exposed" by that decision.

Benedicte Bjoerndal, head of Norway's domestic intelligence agency, singled out recent attacks or planned attacks in Britain, Canada and Australia that have targeted soldiers and police officers as examples of why the Scandinavian country's assessment of terror threats was changed.

The evaluation came as Prime Minister Erna Solberg told Parliament about her government's decision to send troops to Iraq.

"We will not allow threats from terror organizations dictate our security policy," Solberg told lawmakers.

yesterday's assessment was not as high as in July, when the domestic intelligence agency said it had information about an imminent "concrete threat" from people with links to Islamic fighters in Syria. The threat level eventually was downgraded.

Norway is still recovering from the 2011 attack by far-right fanatic Anders Behring Breivik, who killed 69 people in a shooting spree at a political youth camp and killed eight others by bombing a government office.