Posted on 07/09/2002 4:24:02 PM PDT by Ichabod Walrus
NATO investigates alleged plot to kill US commander
Monday, 08-Jul-2002 9:31AM
Story from AFP / Amra Hadziosmanovic
by Agence France-Presse (via ClariNet)
SARAJEVO, July 8 (AFP) - NATO troops in Bosnia are investigating allegations of a plot to kill the US commander of the Stabilisation Force (SFOR) during a visit to Mostar at the weekend after a man armed with a sniper gun was arrested during a security sweep, a SFOR spokesman said Monday.
Police in the southern Bosnian town of Mostar identified the man as A.K., aged 31, and said he was carrying a 9 mm machinegun equipped with a silencer, sniperscope and ammunition.
The man was arrested Saturday just before Lieutenant-General John Sylvester, commander of the 19,000 troops in Bosnia, arrived in Mostar to meet with the town's mayor and pay a visit to Spanish troops serving in the area.
In a statement, Mostar police said it was looking into a link between the discovery of the "sophisticated weaponry" and Sylvester's visit to Mostar.
A police source in Mostar identified the man as Adnan Kadric, a member of a crime ring based in the central Bosnian town of Zenica, and said authorities had ordered that he remain in custody for eight days.
He said Kadric denies any wrongdoing, saying that he had bought the gun in the nearby town of Posusje and planned to deliver it to Zenica.
But the Croatian daily Vecernji List reported Monday that Kadric was "leader of a terrorist organisation in Zenica."
Citing sources from SFOR and UN's international police in Bosnia, the daily described Kadric as "an international terrorist, who has recently resided in Germany and Netherlands, where he was slightly wounded in a clash with Russian mafia three months ago."
"The police suspect Kadric of attempting to assassinate SFOR's commander," the daily said.
SFOR declined to comment on the report.
"Obviously, the fact that Lieutenant-General Sylvester was in Mostar at the time of his arrest causes us concern," SFOR spokesman Scott Lundy said.
"The Mostar police have primary responsibility to conduct the investigation and we will be relying on them to keep us fully informed of what they learned, " a SFOR statement quoted Sylvester as saying.
"We also have two criminal investigators from SFOR who are working together with Mostar officials," he said.
"Once we know the results of the investigation we will take appropriate action," Sylvester added.
SFOR troops have been deployed under the terms of the 1995 peace accord that ended the war the 1992-1995 war. There have been no casualties among SFOR troops resulting from hostile action.
Except for at least 13 SFOR troopers killed and 133 injured by mines, which if not planted by *hostile* forces, were certainly arranged by someone with peculiar ideas about hospitality and welcoming folks.
Police in the southern Bosnian town of Mostar identified the man as A.K., aged 31, and said he was carrying a 9 mm machinegun equipped with a silencer, sniperscope and ammunition.
I'm not so sure I believe this. "Machine guns" typically depend on a lot of ammo. That means belts or large capacity magazines, usually. I've never seen a 9mm belt-fed anything, but that doesn't mean much I guess...
A nice 30 round magazine gets in the way of prone or semi-prone positions - at least for me. And is a waste to boot...
A machine gun is good for defending a fortified position (and not 9mm) or if you are part of a coordinated fire team. This account reeks, IMO.
Of course, if he were a Serb, that would have been part of the title and every paragraph would have mentioned it. Sort of like when a politician gets caught in the US. If it's a Republican, it's part of the headline. If it's a Democrat, no party affiliation is every mentioned.
Considering that most reporters don't know firearms, of course it reeks. Most likely, the guy had a silenced HK MP5K with a red dot sight, which would fulfill the description given for the uninitiated.
I take a single reporter's story with a grain of salt mostly because I have seen so many stories with incorrect details about subjects I have knowledge about. Given that track record I discount details in technical areas I don't have knowledge in.
Now that's strange...the "Leaders" of these Terrorist Groups NEVER does the dirtywork!! If this dude's the Leader, the Bad Guys must be gettin' pretty desperate out there!!
FReegards...MUD
Adnan is a Muslim name. Go to Google and search for Adnan
You're the second person to confirm my suspicions.
I wonder if the Muslims will start attacking the NATO troops. I wonder how they'll manage to blame it all on the Serbs.
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