Norway gunman's erratic demands puzzle investigators

Before his court appearance earlier, Behring Breivik had asked to appear in uniform and to speak English.

OSLO: To be named head of the army or force the king to abdicate: the man behind Norway's July 22 attacks has made a number of outlandish demands, and according to a report Wednesday considers himself the commander of an anti-communist resistance.

"Breivik. Commander. Involved in the anti-communist resistance against Islamisation. Mission accomplished and I will surrender to the Delta force:" were the words the 32-year-old rightwing extremist used in a call to the police emergency number 112 on July 22, the Verdens Gang (VG) daily reported.

Behring Breivik had just gone on a nearly 80-minute shooting rampage on Utoeya, where the ruling Labour Party's youth movement was hosting a summer camp, killing 69 people and injuring dozens of others, many of them teenagers.

Another eight people were killed earlier in the day, when he set off a car bomb outside government offices in Oslo.

The call, which came shortly before Behring Breivik was arrested by special Delta forces, lasted only three seconds, according to VG, which added that police attempts to get the killer back on the line had failed.

Police confirmed to AFP that a call was made from Behring Breivik's phone shortly before his arrest, but would not confirm that the killer himself made the call or the words used.

The report fits well with a string of strange and outlandish demands made by the gunman since he was taken into custody.

Before his only court appearance to date, behind closed doors on July 25, Behring Breivik had asked to appear in uniform and to speak English. Both requests were denied.

"He did not say why" he wanted to speak English, prosecutor Christian Hatlo told a news conference Tuesday.

Behring Breivik has also requested that a Japanese, rather than European, psychiatrist examine his mental state, according to his lawyer.

"This wish has to do with the concept of honour. He believes that a Japanese person will understand him better than someone from Europe," defence lawyer Geir Lippestad told financial daily Dagens Naeringsliv Tuesday.

And over the weekend, Norwegian media revealed that Behring Breivik, who has said he is on a "crusade" against Islam and multiculturalism, first told investigators he would only talk once the country's centre-left government and its military top brass had resigned and King Harald V abdicated.

He had also insisted to be placed in charge of Norway's armed forces.

Several psychiatrists have told AFP that Behring Breivik, who has published a 1,500-word manifesto about his "mission" and numerous pictures of himself posing with a smug smile and dressed in different uniforms, shows clear narcissistic and megalomaniac tendencies.

"He acts like a narcissistic being, with his ego, his uniforms and his manifesto sent out to lots of people," psychiatry expert Per Boerre Huseboe told AFP.

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Most experts however do not think the 32-year-old's mental state will keep him out of prison.

Two Norwegian psychiatrists have been tasked with examining him and making a recommendation by November 1 on whether he can be tried and held accountable for his actions.

Police meanwhile are closely looking into Behring Breivik's outlandish demands, which investigators suspect can provide valuable clues.

They are also investigating whether the rightwing extremist with no college-level degree had written his 1,500-page manifesto in perfect English on his own.

Police said Tuesday they were probing whether there was a connection with his half-sister living in the United States, who had been interrogated by US authorities.

"He speaks English fluently and says English is his working language. When we talk about chemical formulas or technical things, he prefers to do this in English," his lawyer Lippestad told the Dagbladet daily.