Bosnia: Police arrest man suspected of plotting to blow up cross above Mostar
BBC Monitoring Europe (Political) - July 17, 2006 Monday

Excerpt from report by I. Culina, J. Popovac entitled "Mostar: Terrorist attack prevented" published by Bosnian Croat daily Dnevni list on 14 July

Mostar: Dnevni list has learned from sources close to the B-H Federation MUP [Interior Ministry] that, on the night between Wednesday [12 July] and Thursday, members of the B-H Federation MUP special unit arrested a Bosniak in the Mostar suburb of Blagaj.

The police allegedly arrested a man whose nickname is "Wahhabi" and is suspected of plotting terrorist attacks on religious buildings in Mostar and the surrounding areas. Dnevni list's many attempts to learn more about the entire event were in vain. The B-H Federation MUP did not wish to confirm or deny information obtained by Dnevni list.

According to what Dnevni list found out, police operatives obtained information about persons involved in making explosives and learned through tapping of mobile telephones about the time, manner and location of planting explosives under religious buildings. The special unit intervened quickly, detaining the suspect and taking him to the MUP offices in the B-H Federation government building. The suspect was interrogated throughout the day yesterday, and security was stepped up on the third floor. We made many attempts to learn more about the suspect's identity and the planned attacks, but with no success. No official information was released prior to the publication of this edition of Dnevni list.

Dnevni list learned that one of the targets was the cross at Hum, the hill overlooking Mostar. Allegedly, certain quantities of explosives were already prepared for this attack. According to unofficial information, these explosives were discovered early yesterday morning in the suspect's house. During the night Blagaj, a suburb south of Mostar, was under heavy surveillance of the police prior to the completion of the effort to arrest the suspect. The Hum cross was also under constant police surveillance. Yesterday we visited the site and saw the cross guarded by plainclothes men. The police allegedly videotaped the area throughout the day yesterday and took note of all persons who were in the vicinity of the target.

[Passage omitted: Catholic authorities have no information on incident; Mostar residents unable to use telephones during police action in Blagaj]

Source: Dnevni list, Mostar, in Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian 14 Jul 06 p 3

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