Two rival Muslim groups clashed in front of a mosque in a volatile southern Serbian region, leaving four people injured, police said.

The clash in Novi Pazar, the administrative center of the Raska region, was between Muslims who support a local cleric and those in favor one located in Belgrade.

Two men were wounded by gunfire, one in the neck, during the incident in front of Novi Pazar's main Altum Alem mosque, police said. They added that two police officers were also wounded while trying to separate the two groups, who were hurling stones.

	Police cordons area around a mosque as rival Muslims shoot, wound each other in Serbian city.

Several incidents have taken place within the Muslim community in Raska, referred to as Sandzak by Muslims, since Adem Zilkic became a leader of Serbia's Muslims to replace the local mufti, Muarem Zukorlic who is close to the religious leadership in Bosnia.

Zilkic's supporters have held regular prayers in front of the Altum Alem mosque since it was closed two weeks ago by Zukorlic, who said it was to be renovated. They were trying to enter the mosque by force when the clash occurred, police said.

A leader of the Islamic community in Novi Pazar, Sead Sacirovic, says that the police was standing in front of the mosque door when a shot was heard and witnesses saw a man, Eko Bisevac, fall to the ground. Bisevac has been hospitalized.

Leaders of the Islamic community of Serbia have appealed for calm and have asked the authorities for protection against violent tactics of the displaced Imam Zukorlic.

Imam Zukorlic is close to the Bosnian Muslim leader, Mustafa Ceric, who recently took part in a meeting in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, with leaders from the Saudi-funded Muslim World League that seeks destruction of Israel and supports "pressuring" Serbia in order to force it to give up its southern province of Kosovo to the dominating Muslim Albanians who covet it.

Serbian intelligence have suggested that the Raska region as well as Muslim-dominated regions in neighboring Bosnia and Kosovo, could be an ideal recruitment spot for terrorists. But, despite tensions among Muslims, no terrorist attacks have been reported there yet.