Kosovo Interior Minister Xhelal Svečla announced on Saturday that police had detained eight people after an explosion hit a canal supplying water to two of Kosovo’s main power plants. Pristina described the incident as a “terrorist act” by neighboring Serbia, which denied the accusations. TASR informs about it according to the Reuters agency.
“Somehow we managed to repair the damage, apprehend the suspects and confiscate a huge arsenal of weapons,” said Svečla at the press conference. Police chief Gazmend Hoxha said that those detained are suspected of “instigating, organizing and even carrying out these recent terrorist attacks”. According to him, the initial investigation showed that 15 to 20 kilograms of explosives were used in Friday’s explosion.
Police raided ten locations and seized more than 200 military uniforms, six hand-held rocket launchers, firearms and ammunition, the commander added. Police also announced that most of those detained belong to the local Serbian organization Civilna zaštika (Civil Protection), which the Kosovo government has declared a terrorist group. The explosion that damaged the canal occurred on Friday near the town of Zubin Potok in northern Kosovo. This strengthened security measures in the area of critical infrastructure on Saturday.
“The attack was carried out by professionals. We believe gangs controlled by Serbia are responsible,” Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said at a press conference without providing evidence. In a later statement, the government also blamed Serbia for the attack.
On Saturday, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić rejected the “irresponsible” and “baseless accusations” of Kosovo. “The aim of these claims is to damage the reputation of Serbia, as well as to undermine efforts to promote peace and stability in the region,” he emphasized in a statement to AFP. Serbian Foreign Minister Marko Djuric previously stated that the Kosovo “regime” could be behind the explosion and called for an international investigation into the incident.
