| U.S. diplomat warns of Al-Qaeda in Bosnia |
| 19 August 2007 | 10:06
| Source:
AFP |
SARAJEVO --
Al-Qaeda uses Bosnia for transit, receiving help from Islamic veterans of the 1990s war, a U.S. diplomat says.
"Certain intelligence agencies consider Bosnia-Herzegovina as one of the al-Qaeda's transit points," Raffi Gregorian told the Sarajevo daily Dnevni Avaz in an interview published Saturday.
"There are sympathizers in the country who are ready to help al-Qaeda with hiding agents, providing financial support or providing false documents," he added.
Gregorian is the principal deputy to Miroslav Lajčak, the top international representative here.
Asked whether there were so-called "sleepers" in the Balkans country, Gregorian replied "No, there are more likely helpers."
Bosnia came under the spotlight after the September 11, 2001 terror attacks on the United States due to the presence in the former Yugoslav republic of fighters from Islamic countries.
Hundreds of them joined the mainly Muslim Bosnian army during the country's 1992-1995 war. Although they were ordered to leave under the terms of the peace deal, some stayed on after obtaining Bosnian citizenship.
"There were people who fought in Bosnia and who were, in a way, directly linked with al-Qaeda," Gregorian said.
Bosnia recently revoked the citizenship of nearly 400 people, including a number of former Muslim fighters, due to irregularities in the process.
Six terror suspects of Arab origin linked to the al-Qaeda terror network were arrested in Bosnia and handed over to the U.S. authorities in 2002.
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