Norway hikes terror threat level to 'high' over Mideast escalation

Norway's intelligence agency on Tuesday raised its terror threat level to "high", fearing fallout from escalating tensions in the Middle East.

The announcement, which brings the threat level to four on a scale of five, comes after attacks last week on Israel's embassies in neighbouring Denmark and Sweden.

Norway's normally unarmed police have been ordered to carry weapons on patrol.

"We are raising the threat level from moderate to high in Norway due to several factors, primarily the current escalation in the Middle East," said PST intelligence agency spokesman Martin Bernsen.

"We have no information about any concrete or realistic plans aimed at carrying out terrorist acts on targets in Norway," he stressed.

Following the announcement, Norway's police directorate ordered officers, normally unarmed on patrol, to carry their service weapons.

"In Norway, it's the threat against Jewish and Israeli targets that has increased further," Bernsen said.

"There are several Jewish holidays in October and some people could take advantage of that to stage an attack," he added.

In addition to armed patrols, the police said it would bolster preventive measures, including boosting its presence at sensitive sites or gatherings and increasing border controls and surveillance.

According to Norwegian authorities, there are about 1,500 people in Norway's Jewish community, most of them in the Oslo area.

Israel's embassies in Denmark and Sweden were last week targeted in separate attacks, with explosions near the embassy in Copenhagen and gunfire at the mission in Stockholm.

Sweden's intelligence agency has suggested that Iran may have orchestrated the two incidents.

In Copenhagen, two Swedes aged 16 and 19 were arrested on suspecion of transporting five grenades and throwing two near the Israeli embassy on October 2.

"State actors are using criminal networks to carry out terrorist acts in other countries in Europe," the head of PST's anti-terrorism unit, Siv Sorensen, told a press conference.

"We know that people linked to the attack in Copenhagen have been linked to activities in Norway," she said.