US embassy in Norway evacuated due to bomb scare

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OSLO, Norway — The U.S. Embassy in Norway was evacuated on Tuesday after its security staff found a suspicious object beneath a nearby automobile.

Norwegian police said the embassy and the surrounding area, including the royal palace, were cleared of people in the heart of Norway's capital, and that a bomb squad with sniffer dogs was dispatched there.

"It's a large area — around 500 meters (yards) surrounding the embassy," said police spokesman Martin Todnem, adding that police received a call from embassy security staff at 11.22 a.m.

The NTB news agency reported that visitors to the royal place, the residence of the nation's monarch, were also cleared, but that its staff members remained there. The royal family was not in the palace at the time, the agency reported.