Norwegian terror suspect admits firing shots

The man linked to a deadly bombing and shooting spree in Norway has confessed to firing weapons on an island near the nation's capital and has been charged under the country's terror laws, police confirmed Saturday.

As the Nordic massacre's death toll rose to at least 92 people on Saturday, information continued to trickle out about the mass tragedy and the man thought to be behind the carnage.

The man, whose name has not been confirmed by police, purchased a six-tonne cache of fertilizer before the twin attacks.

On Saturday, police found 9,000 to 11,000-pounds of fertilizer on a rented farm just south of Oslo. Police and soldiers continued to search for evidence and potential bombs on the property.

The suspect was arrested on Friday, shortly after a gunman dressed as a police officer opened fire on a youth camp on Utoya, an island just outside Norway's capital.

Police said the gunman was shooting for an hour and a half before surrendering to a SWAT team that arrived 40 minutes after they were called. The police said they chose to drive because their helicopter wasn't on standby.

"There were problems with transport to Utoya," said Police Chief Sveinung Sponheim. "It was difficult to get a hold of boats, but that problem was solved when the SWAT team arrived."

Footage filmed from a helicopter showed the gunman firing into the water as people tried to escape.

At least 82 people were killed on the island, but police said there are still four or five people missing.

Sponheim said the missing people may have drowned. Divers have been searching the surrounding waters.

Survivors of the shooting reported the gunman ordered people to come closer before pulling out weapons and ammunition from a bag and opening fire.

One survivor, 21-year-old Dana Barzingi, said that several victims pretended to be dead to survive. But after shooting the victims with one gun, the gunman shot them again in the head with a shotgun, he said.

Another survivor fled to a cabin with 10 to 15 others when she heard the gunshots and hid underneath a bed until police arrived.

The woman's boyfriend, Tormod Solem Slupphaug, told CTV News Channel on Saturday that they had been speaking on the phone just moments before the attack began.

"I talked to her a couple of minutes before the shooting started about the bomb in Oslo and what a terrifying incident that was," he said. "And just about 10 to 15 minutes later she called me back again and told me that there had been shots on the island."

Slupphaug said waiting to hear for confirmation of his girlfriend's well-being was horrific.

Police also linked the suspect to the explosion that had ripped through an Oslo government building just hours before. On Saturday, police confirmed that a car bomb was responsible for the explosion.

A police official told The Associated Press that the bomb used was "some kind of Oklahoma City-type" device made of fertilizer and diesel fuel. Officials are not sure what kind of detonator was used.

The Oklahoma City bomb was a 4,000-pound fertilizer-and-fuel-oil bomb that detonated in front of a federal building in 1995, killing 168 people.

Norwegian news outlets have identified the man as 32-year-old Anders Behring Breivik, describing him as a right-wing extremist opposed to both Islam and multiculturalism.

News agency NTB said the suspect wrote a 1,500-page manifesto in which he attacked Muslim immigration and described how to acquire explosives.

They speculate that his farming business would have access to fertilizer that could be used to construct bombs.

On Saturday, a spokeswoman for agricultural supplier Felleskjopet confirmed that the company told police shortly after Breivik emerged as a suspect that he had bought six-tonnes of fertilizer shortly after he emerged as a suspect.

As the police continue to investigate, Norway is grieving the attacks, said to be the deadliest bombing the country has seen since the Second World War.

Flags around Oslo were lowered to half-staff on Saturday. Residents also gathered at a local cathedral to light candles and lay flowers.

The army could be seen patrolling the streets, which is unusual for Norway -- a country which sees an average of just 40 murders a year and where the average police officer doesn't carry a firearm.

In the wake of the Nordic massacre, European police announced Saturday that they're establishing a task force of more than 50 experts to help northern European countries address terrorism.

The group, which is based in The Hague, hopes to help Norway with its investigations in the coming weeks, task force spokesperson Soeren Pedersen told The Associated Press.

• 3:26 p.m. A car bomb explodes outside the prime minister's office in central Oslo.

• Around 4:50 p.m. Vacationers at a campground begin to hear shooting across the lake on Utoya, an island where the youth wing of the Labour Party is being held.

• 5:38 p.m. The SWAT team is dispatched from Oslo. It drives, deciding that starting a police helicopter would take longer.

• By 6 p.m. The team arrives at the lake, but it struggles to find a boat to cross over.

• 6:20 p.m. The SWAT team arrives on the island.

• 6:35 p.m. The suspect puts down his weapons and surrenders to police.

With files from the Associated Press