Norwegian Police Release Suspect Images After IED Blast at Oslo U.S. Embassy

Norwegian police published two heavily pixelated surveillance images Monday of a hooded figure suspected of placing an improvised explosive device at the consular entrance of the U.S. Embassy in Oslo, as investigators pursue what they described as a possible act of terrorism with no arrests made.

The blast struck the embassy's consular section on Morgedalsvegen street in the Ullern district at around 1 a.m. Sunday. The explosion sent thick smoke into the street and left shattered glass scattered across the snow outside the entrance, cracks in a thick glass door, overhead lamps dangling from wiring, and black scorch marks on a tiled floor. No injuries were reported. Police described the device as an IED that produced a "powerful blast" but caused only minor structural damage to the building.

"The individual has still not been identified, and we have no specific suspects. No one has been arrested so far. Work to identify the perpetrator is ongoing at full capacity," police said in a statement.

The two released images, drawn from surveillance camera footage, show a figure in dark clothing with a hood pulled up. One image shows the person from the front; the other captures the back, with what appears to be a rucksack visible. The suspect's face cannot be discerned in either photograph. Police have asked anyone who noticed anything unusual in the area between midnight and 2 a.m. local time Sunday to come forward.

Frode Larsen, head of the police's joint unit for investigation and intelligence, told Norwegian public broadcaster NRK that "one of the hypotheses is that it is an act of terrorism," while investigators said they were also pursuing other possible causes, including a potential link to the conflict in the Middle East. Dogs, drones, and helicopters were deployed at the scene as part of the investigation, which police described as a high priority.

Investigators are also examining a video uploaded to the Google Maps page for the U.S. Embassy around the time of the incident, which appeared to show Iran's late supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The video has since been removed. "The police are conducting several inquiries related to the video, but we do not wish to comment on any further details at this time," police said.

Norway's Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store called the incident "very serious and completely unacceptable" and said he had spoken directly with the head of the U.S. Embassy in Oslo. Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide stressed that "the security of diplomatic missions is very important to us." A U.S. State Department spokesperson confirmed that Washington was also investigating the incident.

The attack comes amid heightened alert for U.S. diplomatic facilities globally, with embassies across the Middle East placed on high security as tensions over American military operations in Iran have prompted retaliatory strikes against industrial and diplomatic targets. No group has claimed responsibility for the Oslo bombing.

Norway's national terror threat level remained unchanged at moderate following the blast, though security around U.S., Israeli, and Jewish sites in Norway was reported to have been increased as a precautionary measure.