Militant
Wahhabi dead after attacking Serb police
BELGRADE (AP)--Police trying to search a suspected hide-out for Islamic
extremists in southern Serbia early Friday came under attack and killed
one of the suspects, the authorities said.
Officers were attempting to search the suspected safe house of a leader
of a local group of Muslims following the extreme Wahhabi branch of Sunni
Islam. A hand grenade was thrown at the officers, injuring one of them.
 |
 |
 |
|
| Ismail
Prentic, head of an Islamic terror group shot dead by Serb police on April
20, 2007. |
|
|
 |
|
 |
Police said they responded with machine-gun fire, killing one of the
men inside and injuring another and arresting a third. Police identified
the slain suspect as Ismail Prentic, and described him as the leader of
a militant group.
The house is located near Novi Pazar, in the center of the predominantly
Muslim region of Sandzak along the border with Bosnia and Montenegro.
Police arrested six Muslims in the region last month and accused them
of being Islamic radicals and adherents of the Wahhabi interpretation of
Islam, which is followed by Osama bin Laden and many al-Qaida members.
Police said then that they discovered a mountain cave that served as
a terrorist training ground packed with plastic explosives, masks and machine
guns. Police said the group was planning attacks in Serbia or elsewhere
and had ties to other Islamic terrorist groups.
Western intelligence reports leaked recently have suggested that Sandzak,
as well as Muslim-dominated regions in neighboring Bosnia, could be an
ideal recruitment spot for the so-called "white al-Qaida" - Muslims with
Western features who could easily blend into European or U.S. cities and
carry out attacks.
Several incidents have been reported in Sandzak within the Muslim community,
with the Wahhabis accusing local Muslim clerics of failing to practice
"true" Islam, and disrupting prayers at local mosques.
No attacks have been reported.
April 20, 2007 05:51 ET (09:51 GMT)
