Tuesday, September 04, 2007
"I can't confirm or deny anything, we never do," said Astrid Bodahl-Johansen, information adviser for Norway's intelligence agency PST (Politiets sikkerhetstjeneste).
She followed Tuesday's press conference in Copenhagen, but wasn't willing to comment on the arrests of eight terrorist suspects earlier in the day. Nor would she say whether they have any connections to Norway.
Intelligence experts in several countries aided the Danish investigation into the eight young men rounded up at several addresses in the Copenhagen area. They're charged with planning a terrorist act that would have involved the use of explosives.
Bodahl-Johansen wouldn't say whether Norwegian officials had been in contact with their Danish counterparts or contributed to the investigation.
Danish police claimed the suspects are tied to "a central person" in the al-Qaida network.
Police described the suspects as "militant Islamists with international connections." All are between 19 and 29 years of age with roots in Somalia, Afghanistan, Turkey and Pakistan. Six of the eight arrested are Danish citizens.
Source: Aftenposten, Sept 04, 2007