Repeated pledges of allegiance to the Taliban; new confession from Norway shooting suspect.
Irfan Bahati, a 48-year-old Norwegian Islamist accused of complicity in the deadly shooting at the 2022 Oslo gay festival, has admitted in court that he pledged allegiance to the Taliban years ago.
He said he first swore allegiance in Afghanistan and Pakistan in 2012 and has since renewed his allegiance several times, although he declined to give further details.
The prosecutor in the case, Storla Henriksbos, accuses Bahati of playing a key role in the 2022 armed attack, which killed two people and injured nine.
According to Norwegian media reports, Bahati had tried to transfer the allegiance of another defendant in the case to ISIS to someone he believed was a representative of the group, who was actually a Norwegian intelligence officer.
Born in Oslo to Pakistani parents, Bahati has a history of working in criminal gangs and radical Islamist circles.
In addition to being accused of complicity in the armed attack, he is also accused of attempting to establish a terrorist group.
After being deported from Pakistan last year, he was returned to Oslo at the request of Norwegian police.
