Norway Twin Attack Suspect ‘Has Accomplices’

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The man charged with a bombing and a shooting in Oslo that left several dozen dead has told a court hearing there are “two more cells” working with him.

Police are investigating the claims, which were made as Anders Behring Breivik attended a closed court hearing.

Breivik, 32, admitted carrying out a bombing in Oslo that killed seven people, and a mass shooting at a Labor Party youth camp on the nearby island of Utoya.

Police revised downwards on Monday the death toll in the island attack to 68 from 80. The death toll in the bombing rose one to eight, bringing the total number of dead in Europe’s bloodiest day since the 2004 Madrid bombings to 76.

Breivik told the court that he “needed to carry out the attacks to save Norway and Western Europe from a Muslim takeover” and his intensions were to give a “strong signal to the people.”

Breivik, who was arrested at the scene, was remanded in custody by the court for a further eight weeks. He will spend the first four weeks in total isolation,, with only visits from his lawyer permitted.

Breivik had originally requested that the hearing be open to the public and that he be allowed to wear a military uniform to the arraignment, his lawyer, Geir Lippestad, told local television media.

Police, however, submitted a request that the hearing be closed, fearing that the court would give Breivik a forum to further proclaim the extremist views he posted in 1,500-page online far-right manifesto called 2083 – A European Declaration of Independence.

The manifesto called for a “conservative revolution” against multiculturalism, which he described in his writings as a “threat to Western civilization.”

Breivik’s lawyer said Breivik has admitted to the killings, but he has not accepted criminal responsibility for them.

Ria Novosti

RIA Novosti was Russia's leading news agency in terms of multimedia technologies, website audience reach and quoting by the Russian media.

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