Video allegedly showing murder of Scandinavian student is likely authentic, Norway says
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A video that has been circulating across social media purportedly showing the killing of a Scandinavian university student in a remote part of Morocco’s Atlas Mountains is likely authentic, Norwegian police said Friday.
Officials said they were investigating the footage that appeared to show a woman yelling while a man decapitated her with a knife, Deutsche Welle reported. There wasn't any immediate evidence to conclude the video was inauthentic, Norway's National Criminal Investigation Service said in a statement
“There is no concrete evidence indicating the video is not real,” officials said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Maren Ueland, 28, a Norwegian student, was one of two found murdered in Moroccos' Atlas mountains. (Facebook )
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Louisa Vesterager Jespersen, 24, from Denmark, and Maren Ueland, 28, from Norway, were murdered while camping in the Atlas mountains. The women were found in and outside their tent, located about two hours walking distance from the village of Imlil. Deutsche Welle reported the two women were found decapitated by tourists.
The two women lived in southern Norway, where they attended university. The bodies of the two young women were flown to Copenhagen on Friday, AFP reported.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Louisa Vesterager Jespersen, 24, from Denmark, was traveling with Maren Ueland in Morocco. (Facebook )
Four men have been detained in Morocco, and authorities consider the killings of the two women to be a terrorist act. Moroccan authorities said the four men pledged allegiance to the Islamic State. Morocco is generally considered safe for tourists but has been rooting out Islamic extremists for years.
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Danish Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen said the slayings were “politically motivated and thus an act of terror.” Norway’s Prime Minister Erna Solberg called the murders a “brutal and meaningless attack on innocents.”
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The remote village of Imlil nestled on the slopes of the Atlas mountains in Morocco, Thursday Dec. 20, 2018, about six miles from the spot where the bodies of two Scandinavian women were found. (AP)
The NCIS said it was trying to map the women's activities before their departure for Imlil village, a frequent starting point for treks to Mount Toubkal, North Africa's highest peak. The women were found about 6 miles from the center of the village.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.