Terror threat to Norway has dropped ‘slightly’

While the threat of terrorism hangs over Europe, Norway’s Norwegian Police Security Service (PST) says the country is a bit safer than before.

Published: 26 January 2016 09:45 CET

Terror threat to Norway has dropped 'slightly'

PST head Benedicte Bjørnland. The agency will release its full threat assessment next month. Photo: Håkon Mosvold Larsen / NTB scanpix

PST said that although Europol has concluded that the terrorist threat to Europe is greater than ever, the agency sees the the national threat level as “slightly down”.

“The reason is that several people we were worried about are now dead. Some are also sitting in prison and detention,” PST senior advisor Martin Bernsen told Nettavisen.

Around ten Isis fighters with ties to Norway have died in Syria and Iraq.

“We have seen that the extremist environment in Norway has become smaller and weaker as a result of several people being killed or apprehended,” Bernsen said.

“Regarding what has happened in places like Paris, we are the same situation here as the rest of the world. What has happened in Europe has affected the situation. PST will say more when we release the 2016 terror threat assessment in February,” he added.