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Norway to probe Breivik attacks
27 July 2011 Last updated at 12:12 ET
Haavard Gaasbakk: “Suddenly in front of us there was the gunman with his hands above his head”
Norwegian PM Jens Stoltenberg has announced the creation of a “22 July Commission” to investigate Friday’s bomb and gun attacks.
He said the commission, agreed to by all political parties, would analyse everything that happened.
The speed of the police response to Anders Behring Breivik’s second attack, on Utoeya island, has been questioned.
The shootings, and a bomb attack on government buildings in the capital, Oslo, left at least 76 people dead.
Mr Breivik, a far-right extremist, admits carrying out the attacks.
Speaking at a news conference at his residence, Mr Stoltenberg said the commission would be independent and would enable lessons to be learned.
“This is not a critical inquiry, we have a lot of respect for the way that our authorities and our different agencies have handled the operations,” he said.
“But we think it’s important to go through everything that’s happened so that we can learn as much as possible and draw from our experiences.”
Compensation
The prime minister also announced a national memorial, and said the government would contribute to the cost of funerals of the victims.
Relatives and victims would also be entitled to payments from the state under a new law on compensation for victims of crime, he added.
In a statement earlier, Mr Stoltenberg said Norway would not be intimidated or threatened by the attacks and that Norwegians would stand firm in defending their values.
Meanwhile, the leader of the police squad who apprehended Mr Breivik on the island has been describing the events.
Haarvard Gaasbakk said it was a “completely normal arrest”, and suggested the gunman had surrendered readily.
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