Norwegian capital sees trio of siblings detained in connection with explosion at American diplomatic mission

Norwegian police revealed on Wednesday that three brothers had been taken into custody on suspicion of carrying out a "terrorist bombing" in connection with the explosion that occurred at the US embassy in Oslo over the weekend.

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The blast, which caused minor damage but no injuries, took place at approximately 1:00 am (0000 GMT) on Sunday, March 8, at the entrance to the embassy's consular section, according to Police Attorney Christian Hatlo, who addressed a press briefing at the police station in Gronland.

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Police prosecutor Christian Hatlo stated that the brothers, who are Norwegian citizens of Iraqi origin, were arrested in Oslo around 3:30 pm (1430 GMT), and that authorities are currently investigating the motive behind the attack.

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Hatlo noted that several hypotheses are being explored, including the possibility that the bombing was ordered by a government entity, which he described as a "quite natural" line of inquiry given the target and current global security situation.

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According to Hatlo, the investigation aims to determine the exact roles played by the brothers, who are in their 20s and were not previously known to police, with one believed to have placed the bomb outside the embassy and the other two suspected of being complicit in the act.

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The police are also considering potential links to "criminal networks", as outlined in the Norwegian security service PST's annual threat assessment, which was released last month.

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The PST report highlighted Iran as one of the main threats to Norway, suggesting that the country could rely on "proxy actors", including "criminal networks", to carry out attacks.

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Iran's ambassador in Oslo, Alireza Jahangiri, denied any involvement by his country in the embassy explosion, stating that it is "unacceptable" to be singled out in this manner.

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US embassies in the Middle East have been placed on high alert due to American strikes on Iran, with several facilities facing attacks as Tehran targets industrial and diplomatic sites in response.

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The blast at the US embassy in Oslo occurred at around 1:00 am (0000 GMT) on Sunday, March 8, at the entrance to the embassy's consular section, with the perpetrators described as potentially acting out of their own motives.

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On Monday, police published two images from surveillance camera footage showing a suspect dressed in dark clothing with a hood over his head and wearing a backpack, which was taken roughly at the time the incident occurred.

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A video was uploaded to the Google Maps page for the US embassy around the time of the incident, appearing to show Iran's late supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed on the first day of the US-Israeli strikes in Iran, although the video has since been taken down.

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According to Norwegian public broadcaster NRK, the person who uploaded the video wrote in Persian: "God is great. We are victorious", with police having opened an investigation into this matter.