Two 13-Year-Old Boys Among Three Held Over Oslo Grenade Attack

Oslo: Norwegian police said Wednesday that they had detained three youths, including two 13-year-old boys, after grenades were thrown the previous day in downtown Oslo, causing no injuries.

On Tuesday evening, an explosion was heard near the Norwegian capital's Oslomet university.

Police were dispatched and conducted a controlled detonation of another explosive device, a hand grenade, found at the scene.

Investigators believe the incident was likely the result of what they called "violence as a service", where the youths might have acted under orders.

"The police have detained extremely young boys. Two of them are only 13 years old," Police Commissioner Ida Melbo Oystese told a press conference.

"We are currently working under the hypothesis that they (the suspects) may have taken on a violence-related assignment on behalf of others," she added.

Because the suspects are younger than 15, the age of criminal responsibility in Norway, social services took charge of them.

Norway has a low crime rate but has recently suffered gang violence spilling over from neighbouring Sweden, which in recent years has struggled to rein in a surge in shootings and bombings.

In both countries, there is a growing trend among criminal groups to use young people who evade prosecution due to their age.

According to TV2, one of the 13-year-old suspects allegedly received 30,000 kroner ($3,000) for his involvement.

"At this stage, we believe that it (the grenade attack) was directed at premises near the scene, but not directly at individuals," Grete Lien Metlid, head of the intelligence and investigations section at Oslo police, said.

Only two of the three suspects are directly linked to the explosion, she said.

The police have not ruled out the possibility of additional arrests.

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