Yesterday a Pakistani student was arrested in Manchester, on suspicion of being involved inthe NYC metro bombing plot. Today three people were arrested in Norway, possibly related to the same or similar plot.
The Norwegian Security Service (PST) is currently holding a press conference. I'll add updates as they come.
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Three suspected al-Qaida members were arrested Thursday morning in what Norwegian and U.S. officials said was a terrorist plot linked to similar plans in New York and England.
This article was prepared by the Islam in Europe blog - islamineurope.blogspot.com
The three men, whose names were not released, had been under surveillance for more than a year. Officials believe they were planning attacks with portable but powerful bombs like the ones at the heart of last year's thwarted suicide attack in the New York City subway.
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder has called that one of the most serious terrorist plots since 9/11. On Wednesday, prosecutors revealed the existence of a related plot in Manchester, England. Officials believe the Norway plan was organized by Salah al-Somali, al-Qaida's former chief of external operations, the man in charge of plotting attacks worldwide.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the case. The Norwegian Police Security Service said only that the three were arrested on suspicion of "preparing terror activities."
(more)
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The three men all have permanent residence permits in Norway. One has Norwegian citizenship. The PST suspects them of plotting to commit a terror attack. They think the three have links to people aboard who are linked to al-Qaeda.
The PST sees this as a very serious case, but says it's not possible to give any more details at this time.
Sources: AP (English), VG (Norwegian)
Update (VG):
The men arrested are:
1. A 39 year old Norwegian citizen of Uighur background. Came to Norway in 1999.
2. A 37 year old Iraqi citizen. Came to Norway in 1999. Received residence for humanitarian reasons and has a permanent residence permit.
3. A 31 year old from Uzbekistan. Came to Norway as an asylum seeker in 2002, and later received residence in Norway. Has a permanent residence permit.
PST head Janne Kristiansen says that the investigation had been ongoing for a while, and that they've been following several people over time. The PST was told that the foreign media were on the case last week, which could have been diststrous for the investigation.
Two of the suspects were arrested in Oslo, and one in Germany.
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