July 1, 2012
Army General Kjell Grandhagen (Director of Norwegian Intelligence Services) has confirmed that several Norwegians have been trained in conflict regions abroad.
He did not comment specific cases, such as the one mentioned by The (British) Sunday Times claiming that one Norwegian convert would be used to attack an American plane. ”We are familiar with the fact that Norwegians have attended training camps around the world”, Grandhagen explained to the Norwegian Broadcasting Cooperation (NRK). The General further expressed his concern about a trend where Norwegian youth could be recruited by al-Qaida. “The fact that people travel abroad to conflict regions to be trained, opens up possibilities that they could return as terrorists. The best way to prevent such development is for citizens to be alert and report any suspicious activities.” The Sunday Times quotes intelligence sources which claim that the Norwegian youth in question converted in 2008 upon which he traveled to Yemen receiving several months training.
