Police Arrest Two Men, Seek A Third For Deadly Oslo Gay Bar Shooting

Police in Norway on Sunday announced the arrest of two men in connection with the mass shooting in Oslo during Pride month last June.

Oslo police said they had arrested a Somali citizen in his 40s and a Norwegian citizen in his 30s, but, according to Reuters, provided no other information on the suspects or the charges.

The arrests bring to four the number of people implicated by police in connection with the attack, as police on Friday announced they had issued an international arrest warrant for Arfan Bhattti, a 44-year-old Norwegian Islamist, over his alleged role in the attack. Zaniar Matapour, 43, was quickly arrested near the scene on the night of the attack and charged with terrorism, murder, and attempted murder in connection with the attack.

The mass shooting took place in Oslo outside the London Pub and the Per pa hjornet, both popular gay bars, early on the morning of Saturday, June 25. The shootings left two dead and 21 wounded, and came only hours before the city's Pride celebration was to take place. Out of concern for the safety of participants and the fear of additional attacks, the Pride parade scheduled for later in the day was canceled.

According to The Local, police said they had been in contact with Bhatti's attorney in Norway, but had not been in direct contact with Bhatti, who they suspect of hiding out in Pakistan. Pakistan has no extradition treaty with Norway.

"To ensure the best possible cooperation with the Pakistani authorities, we had Oslo police officers in Pakistan a short time ago," police said earlier today.

From the outset, police and investigators believed the crime was an act of terrorism, and they indicated recently they still believe terrorism was the motive.

"The hypothesis that it was an act of terrorism has now been strengthened," police spokesperson Boerge Enoksen said at a news conference on Friday.