Norway opens probe into Norwegian-owned firm in Bulgaria linked to pager blasts in Lebanon

By Leila Nezirevic

LONDON (AA) – Norwegian police have launched a preliminary investigation into a Bulgarian-based company owned by a Norwegian citizen in connection with pager explosions in Lebanon, which killed at least 37 people and injured over 3,200 in two waves of communication device and radio blasts, local media reported on Friday.

The Oslo Police District announced that they have launched the investigation into the Norwegian connection to the incident that occurred across Lebanon on Tuesday and Wednesday.

“We can confirm that the police have launched preliminary investigations into the information that has come to light, and are continuously assessing any possible measures,” Operations Manager Alexander Osterhaug was quoted as saying by national broadcaster NRK.

According to the media report, the Norwegian-owned company is registered in Bulgaria's capital Sofia.

So far, the case's clues point to Taiwan, Hungary, Bulgaria, and, now Norway.

Earlier this week, a Hungarian news report suggested that Sofia-based Norta Global was involved in the sale of pagers to Lebanon-based group Hezbollah.

However, Bulgaria's counterintelligence agency, DANS, has found no connection between the country and recent wireless communication device explosions in Lebanon and Syria, state-run media reported on Friday.

Both Hezbollah and the Lebanese government have blamed Israel for the well-planned explosions.

So far, Israel has not responded to the deadly attacks. Even, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu distanced itself from a post on X by his advisor Topaz Luk, which hinted at Tel Aviv was responsible for the explosions.

Several countries condemned the pager explosions and expressed solidarity with Lebanon, while international human rights organizations, including Human Rights Watch, warned that such attacks endanger civilian lives and violate wartime laws.

The mass explosion of pagers came amid an exchange of cross-border attacks between Hezbollah and Israel against the backdrop of a brutal Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip, which has killed over 41,300 people, mostly women and children, and injured over 95,000 others following a Hamas attack last October.

Earlier on Friday, Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide called for restraint. “I extend my heartfelt sympathy with civilians in Lebanon and across the region who now live in fear.

“I call on all parties to show maximum restraint,” he wrote on X

On Thursday evening, Israel bombed new targets in Lebanon in the most intensive attack on the country since the Gaza war broke out.

“What is happening is a threat to international peace and security,” Eide told NRK on Friday.

“Now Israeli leaders say quite explicitly that they want to move the war towards Lebanon. Then we will get the escalation that we have feared for a long time,” he emphasized.