European country brings in border checks amid terror threat | World | News
Norway has increased its terror risk to the second highest level amid an increased threat to Jewish and Israeli targets.
The Scandinavian country has been forced to impose new border checks temporarily after police warned of a “challenging threat picture”.
The checks will remain in place until October 22 as the Norwegian security agency, PST, raises the threat level from “moderate” to “high.”
Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said the measures were brought in to “protect against the acute dangers posed by Islamist terrorism and serious crime.”
While not a member of the EU, Norway is a member of the Schengen zone, allowing check-free travel for those with a European ID card.
Police said that the new controls won’t involve all travellers being checked, and there’s no reason to expect delays at border crossings.
The measures come as tensions in the Middle East continue to rise. Israel is fighting both Hamas in Gaza as well as Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.
The conflict erupted after Hamas killed 1,200 Israelis and took 254 hostages.
Since then, Israel has killed over 40,000 people in Gaza via its military campaign, according to the Gaza health ministry figures.
The UK has also been issued a stark warning by MI5 chief Ken McCallum, who said last week that the UK also faces an increased risk from Islamic State.
Mr McCallum also sounded the alarm over threats from Russia and Iran.
He said: “We’ve seen plot after plot here in the UK, at an unprecedented pace and scale.”
Mr McCallum added: “As events unfold in the Middle East, we will give our fullest attention to the risk of an increase in – or broadening of – Iranian state aggression in the UK.”
The MI5 director general said that 75 percent of their counter-terrorism operations involve countering Islamist extremism while 25 percent concern “extreme right-wing terrorism.”
