( CNN ) -- Authorities in Norway have launched an investigation into whether the United States conducted illegal surveillance in the Nordic country , the Ministry of Justice told CNN Thursday . Officials from Norway 's Ministry of Foreign Affairs talked to the number two at the American Embassy in Oslo , James Heg , about the allegations on Wednesday , a spokeswoman said . `` Because here at the Foreign Ministry , we have not been informed about this '' alleged surveillance , she said , asking that her name not be used . `` We wanted to know ... . what these activities included , '' she said . `` These questions were , however , not fully clarified in this meeting , which is why we now have to seek further clarification of the matter , '' she said . `` Any violation of Norwegian law is not accepted , regardless of who may be responsible , '' she told CNN . The investigation follows a report by Norway 's TV2 claiming that the U.S. Embassy in Oslo has been conducting an `` illegal systematic surveillance of Norwegian citizens . '' The channel claims the embassy has hired former police officers and defense staff to take pictures and register people who behave in a suspicious way in order to stop attacks on American targets in Norway . U.S. State Department spokesman Philip J. Crowley acknowledged the surveillance program at a press briefing in Washington on Monday , but said Norwegian authorities had been informed . `` The surveillance detection program is something that we 've put in place over the last decade . We recognize that our posts around the world are prospective targets and tragically there 's a lot of intelligence and actual attacks to back that up , '' he said . `` All of our activities in Norway are fully consistent with and with the cooperation of the host nation government , '' he added . But some key Norwegian authorities deny they had any knowledge of the operation . Justice Minister Knut Storberget has asked the Norwegian police and the Norwegian Security Police to clarify if they had any knowledge of the U.S. Embassy 's alleged surveillance program . `` I wish to bring as many facts as possible to the table . On Norwegian soil , Norwegian law must be followed , '' Storberget said in a statement . Martin Bernsen , a spokesman for the Norwegian Police Security Service , told CNN that they knew of `` a certain surveillance activity taking place , but not at this scale . `` What we can say is that it is only Norwegian police that should conduct police work on Norwegian territory , '' he added . The U.S. Embassy in Oslo responded to the allegations by saying : `` Norway is a friend and ally . We are prepared to work intensively to address any questions the Norwegian government might have on this or any other matter . '' TV2 's report on Wednesday came after a two-year investigation , it said . The station reported that for the last decade , around 15 to 20 individuals have been working in shifts , 24 hours a day at a secret location in Oslo , located close to the embassy . The Surveillance Detection Unit ( SDU ) is said to have been collecting personal information such as vehicle registration numbers and personal information about individuals behaving suspiciously . These reports were then collected in a database called SIMAS , where information is shared between different U.S. authorities and posts , TV2 reported . A TV2 reporter asked Crowley about SIMAS at the State Department briefing on Monday . Crowley did not specifically acknowledge its existence , but said information was shared . `` It is possible when you look at a networked entity like al Qaeda that they might be casing a post in Europe , in the Middle East , in Africa , and so we have a database that shares intelligence and assessment , '' Crowley said . Several hundred Norwegian individuals may be in the SIMAS database , according to TV2 , which said those people may encounter problems if trying to enter the U.S .
The Nordic country asks the U.S. Embassy to explain the alleged spying . Not satisfied with his answers , they start an investigation . The investigation includes a TV report that the U.S. is spying illegally . The U.S. State Department and its embassies are investigated .