Shock as Norway death toll rises

World leaders have condemned the terrorist attacks in Norway in which more than 90 people are now known to have died.

UK Prime Minister David Cameron said the attacks were a "stark reminder of the threat we all face from terrorism".

The statement came as diplomats sought to establish whether any UK nationals had been caught up in the carnage.

At least 84 people were killed when a man dressed as a police officer opened fire at a youth camp run by the ruling Labour Party on the island of Utoya, while seven others died when an explosion devastated government buildings in the capital Oslo

A man arrested on the island, Norwegian Anders Behring Breivik, is also suspected of carrying out the Oslo bombing, but a police official said the attacks did not appear to be linked to Islamist terrorism. He said the suspect appeared to have acted alone and "it seems like that this is not linked to any international terrorist organisations at all".

Mr Cameron said: "My thoughts are with the wounded and those who have lost friends and family, and I know everyone in Britain will feel the same."

US President Barack Obama said the bombing was a reminder that the world has a role in stopping such terror from happening. He also expressed his condolences to Norway's people. Nato Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen called the blast a "heinous act".

Jose Manuel Barroso, president of the European Commission, expressed his "utmost shock", saying an attack of that magnitude is not "something one would expect in Norway, famously associated with peace at home and peacemaking abroad".

Norwegian prime minister Jens Stoltenberg condemned the "cowardly attack on young innocent civilians".

"I have message to those who attacked us," he said. "It's a message from all of Norway: You will not destroy our democracy and our commitment to a better world."
Press Association