Two men, reportedly a Turk and a Swede, were detained by Bosnian police in Ilidza, on the outskirts of Sarajevo, after security officials thought the men might have been planning suicide attacks against unknown targets (Intel Report forthcoming). The two had allegedly been under official surveillance for “some time,” according to Timesonline. Unidentified sources told the BBC that both men were carrying explosives at the time of their arrest, and “weapons and other military equipment” were confiscated from their property. The men are 18 and 20, ages that fit into recruitment profiles. While both men have foreign citizenship, they may be of Yugoslav origin. One of the men, the 18-year old, was said to have recorded a video in which he recited Koranic prayers, a common practice in preparation for suicide missions, particularly in the Palestinian Territories. That a video for the second man has not been released does not necessarily mean he was not planning a suicide attack as well. It could mean that a tape has not yet been discovered, he may not have wished to create one, or he may have had no intentions of embarking on a suicide mission.

There have long been suspicions that Islamist fundamentalists had made inroads into Muslim-populated areas in the Balkans, but these contentions have not been proven conclusively. Experts contend that several hundred mujahideen remained in Bosnia, which has a sizable Muslim population, after the civil war there in 1992-95 and may have started training camps and begun recruiting efforts for the jihad in Europe and beyond. If the reports thus far are true, it is noteworthy that a Swede ? likely a Caucasian ? was involved, as such a profile fits squarely into the recruiting goals of Islamist networks like al-Qaeda that wish to subvert the international security apparatus by injecting individuals who might not raise suspicions due to their physical traits. Adnki, an Italian news portal, reported that al-Qaeda “had been recruiting white local youths in the Balkans for their operations, because of their non-Arabic appearance.” Further, Vecernje novosti, a Belgrade daily paper, contended that Albanians in Kosovo were, too, being recruited by al-Qaeda. These assertions must be tempered with the understanding that ethnic tensions remain quite high, and allegations of collusion with the likes of al-Qaeda will surely bring the wrath of the local law enforcement coupled by the international community down onto one ethnicity by another. As such, ‘intelligence’ emanating from this region must be tempered.