Paper Says Iranian-Trained
Commandos Dispatched to Kill
NEW YORK (AP) — The Muslim-led Bosnian government has dispatched Iranian-trained commando units to kill or capture enemies it has branded war criminals, The New York Times reported. The existence of the units came to light after five Bosnian Muslims were arrested this month and accused of trying to assassinate a renegade Muslim leader, the Times said in Thursday editions. The four men and one woman, some of whom are formally employed by the Bosnian police in the city of Bihac, were arrested near the Croatian city of Rijeka on April 8.The Muslim leader they were allegedly trying to kill was Fikret Abdic, the newspaper said, citing senior Croatian officials and Western diplomats it did not identify. Abdic, who is living in exile in Croatia, recently vowed to return to Bosnia and seek the presidency in elections scheduled this fall. The five Bosnians are also members of the Muslim-led government’s intelligence service, which is called the Bosnian Agency for Investigation and Documentation, said officials who have read transcripts from their interrogations. Police said the five had assault rifles, rocket-propelled grenades and plastic explosives in their possession when they were arrested.
Western diplomats and Croatian officials called their activities disturbing because they seemed to indicate the Bosnian government had given the green light for attacks against political opponents. Agents from the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence and Security, which Western intelligence agencies say has carried out assassinations of Iranian dissidents in the Middle East and Europe, formed the commando teams in Bosnia, the Times said.
Iranian specialists recruited the small groups from among the 1,400 or so people employed in the Bosnian Agency for Investigation and Documentation, officials said. Several dozen of the team members were sent to Iran for instruction, the officials said.
Apr 16 · Renegade Muslim Leader Adbic in Bosnian Elections
Apr 11 · Croatia Indicts Six Bosnians in Murder Plot
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