Because of Middle East conflict:

Norway raises terror alert to second-highest level

(Bild: AFP)

Due to increased danger to Israeli and Jewish institutions in the country, the terror alert level in Norway has been raised to the second-highest level. With immediate effect, level four out of five applies, warning of a "high" terror threat in the Scandinavian country.

The domestic intelligence service PST decided to take this step as a result of the ongoing escalation of the Middle East conflict, the Norwegian police announced on Tuesday.

As in other countries, Jewish and Israeli institutions such as synagogues and embassy buildings in Norway have been under increased police surveillance for some time.

Police to be more visible
One of the consequences of the increased terror alert level is that the police will generally be even more visible and the officers deployed will be armed throughout the country.

Increased attention will also be paid to state actors who could use criminal networks to commit terrorist acts, explained Norwegian police chief Benedicte Bjørnland.

She was alluding to recent shootings and explosions near the Israeli embassies in Stockholm, Sweden, and Copenhagen, Denmark, where it is suspected that young gang criminals may have carried out these acts on behalf of Iran.