An asylum seeker armed with a knife took a female employee at the Dale asylum reception center in Norway hostage

Jonathan Tisdall:

Police arrested the asylum seeker on Thursday afternoon. No one was injured in the incident, NRK (Norwegian Broadcasting) reported.

"The situation has become critical. We know that someone at the center has taken an employee hostage and is making threats with a knife," operation leader Tormod Rostøl of Rogaland County police district said during the crisis.

The asylum seeker was reportedly an Iraqi in his 30s who had had his petition for refuge rejected two weeks ago.

A large armed police force was rushed to the scene, and all traffic in and out of the area was halted, newspaper Stavanger Aftenbladet reported on its web site.

"We have sent quite a lot of manpower to Dale, but have yet to enter into dialog with the hostage taker," Rostøl said. "We know who the hostage taker is, but we know little background, so we cannot assess how dangerous the person is."

Police said they had chosen to prepare well for an eventual attempt to free the hostage.

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