Norway govt. pledges extra $18.7mln to combat terror

PanARMENIAN.Net - The Norwegian government has pledged an extra 109 million kroner ($18.7 million) this year to improve terror preparedness following the July 22, 2011, massacre when a rightwing extremist killed 77 people in a bomb attack and shooting rampage, The Associated Press reports.

Prime Minister Jen Stoltenberg says the funds are in addition to 1.5 billion kroner ($260 million) pledged to the Justice and Emergency Department for new equipment, training of personnel and pre-emptive terror measures.

Stoltenberg told reporters Wednesday, March 20 that the government would do "everything it can to ensure that Norway remains a safe country."

Last year, a comprehensive report exposed shortcomings in Norway's crisis preparedness and highlighted police blunders during the attacks when Anders Behring Breivik gunned down 69 people on Utoya island after exploding a bomb in central Oslo, killing eight.