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Anders Behring Breivik, the Norwegian man who admitted to bombing and shooting sprees that killed 77 people in Norway in July, claims that there are up to eight anti-Islamic militant cells across Europe, according to investigators in Oslo.
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Previously, Breivik said there were two or three such groups in Norway "several" elsewhere in Europe – and that they were all united by the desire to rid the continent of Islam.
Oslo police prosecutor Christian Hatlo is apparently skeptical about Breivik’s claims, which he made shortly after his arrest.
"We have not uncovered a single one of them," he told Reuters.
Hatlo also pointed out that Norwegian police downplayed Breiviks’s assertions in order to prevent a mass panic on the continent.
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Oslo’s police spokesman Roar Hansen told media: "The number I now have is between 60 and 80. But I don't think they [investigators] trust what Breivik is saying on this matter."
Hatlo also said that Oslo police have requested police officials in 20 foreign countries to interview 35 people who may be linked to the July 22 massacres. He emphasized these potential witnesses are not regarded as accomplices, but rather they will be sought to determine Breivik’s travel trajectory and purchases prior to the killings.
"We still think he [Breivik] did this alone and we have not uncovered any accomplices. But it is far too early to draw any final conclusions," Hatlo said.
"For every day that passes we are increasingly sure… We have found nothing to suggest that accomplices exist even though we refuse to definitively rule out the possibility."
Separately, Breivik will be permitted to leave solitary confinement at the high-security Ila prison, but still will be subject to heavy restrictions, Oslo police stated.
"We will not extend the solitary confinement beyond October 17," Hatlo told reporters. “He [Breivik] will not be allowed to receive mail or visitors and he will have no access to media. He will also be kept apart from other prisoners for his own safety.”
Norwegian media reported that Breivik’s life may be in danger in the prison. Apparently, some prisoners and imprisoned members of crime syndicates have vowed to kill him.
Breivik will likely remain in preventive custody until his trial commences sometime next year.
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