Targeting government offices and the Labour party camp point to political agenda behind attacks rather than Islamist terrorism

The re-appearance of an apparently large scale and co-ordinated terrorist attack in a European capital raises the inevitable questions of who was behind it.

The most tempting and immediate conclusion was that it would be a jihadist group, as the style of the Oslo attack bore strong similarities to other earlier attacks in Europe and elsewhere.

But Norwegian police said that the individual believed responsible for the shooting in Utøya, a 32-year-old Norwegian man, was also spotted in Olso before the bombing there.

The targeted nature of the attacks at both government offices and the Labour party youth camp both suggest a more political agenda rather than an attempt to create widespread terror.

Norwegian news reports said that police did not think the attacks were linked to international terrorism and that it was more likely directed at the current political system.

There were reports that the gunman responsible for the attack on PM Jens Stoltenberg's party youth camp on the island of Utøya was blond haired and Nordic looking – allegations still yet to be confirmed.

This suggests the attack might have been the work of an individual or individuals closer in outlook to the Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh driven by their own ideology, a theory backed up by a Norwegian police official who told the Associated Press the man suspected of the attacks does not appear to be linked to Islamist terrorism. He went on to say that the attacks probably have more in common with the 1995 attack on a US federal building in Oklahoma City than the September 11 2001 attacks.

The suspect appeared to have acted alone, he said, and "it seems like that this is not linked to any international terrorist organisations at all." He added that the investigation is still ongoing and that things can change.

The official was speaking on condition of anonymity because that information had not yet been released by Norway's police.

Another threat, largely discounted by state security spokeswoman Janne Kristiansen earlier this year, is right-wing extremism. "Neo-nazis aren't a big threat but we have seen some increased activity," she said.

One thing is certain, however and that is the perception in Norway's security services that Islamist terrorism is a bigger threat than the almost unheard domestic terrorism, despite the existence of far right and anarchist groups who of late are alleged to have improved their international contacts.

Terrorism analyst Will McCants told the New York Times that a group calling itself Ansar al-Jihad al-Alami, or the Helpers of the Global Jihad, issued a statement claiming responsibility for the attack, saying it was a response to Norwegian forces' presence in Afghanistan and to insults to the prophet Muhammad – a claim later withdrawn.

A report earlier this year by the Norwegian intelligence noted the increasing risk of a jihadi terrorist attack, with Norwegian citizens reportedly being trained abroad.

"Although few people in Norway support Islamic extremism, there are activities within some groups that could contribute to heightening the security risk in 2011," the report said. Some individuals in Norway taken part in training or fighting in countries such as Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somali and Yemen, it added.

The United States, European Union, Nato and the UK, all quickly condemned the bombing, which Britain's Foreign Secretary William Hague called "horrific" and Nato Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen deemed a "heinous act."

"It's a reminder that the entire international community has a stake in preventing this kind of terror from occurring," President Barack Obama said.

Obama extended his condolences to Norway's people and offered US assistance with the investigation. He said he remembered how warmly Norwegians treated him in Oslo when he accepted the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009.