PRISTINA, Serbia-Authorities in Kosovo stepped up security Wednesday after police detained a man claiming to have been threatened into acting against "the interests of a foreign state," police said. The man, whose claim is being investigated, told police masked and armed men approached him "demanding he act in their service and fights the interests of a foreign state and collect information for them," threatening to harm him and his family, police said in a statement.
The claim, which was made on Tuesday, prompted police to seek additional help from NATO peacekeepers. However, police believe the suspect made a false claim and is being held in detention pending an investigation. Authorities did not reveal which country the threat was directed against. But a security source, who spoke on condition of anonimity because of the lack of authority to speak to the media, told the AP the alleged threat was aimed against US interests in the province.
US officials in Kosovo said they were confident in the local police's ability to control the situation and did not comment further. US peacekeepers serving as part of the 16,000 strong NATO-led force said earlier Wednesday they maintained a "high level of force security" during Independence Day celebrations.
In the largest military installation, Camp Bondsteel, home to some 1,500 US troops, Maj. Robert Isabella said dog teams were being used as an additional measure of security. "On certain days we have the dogs out. This is normal standard operating procedure," Isabella said, adding that no specific threat to the troops was received.
Kosovo's majority ethnic Albanian population is predominantly Muslim although mostly secular. The province remains one of the most pro-American corners of Europe. The province has been administered by the United Nations since 1999 following NATO's air war that halted a Serb crackdown on ethnic Albanian separatists.
http://www.serbianna.com/news/2007/01934.shtml
Long but interesting read on jihadis, bribes and allegations in Kosovo:
Great Oorang.
I’m always interesting in this area of the world.