Bosnia-Herzegovina has detained 16 people suspected of taking part in the conflicts in Syria and Iraq or of recruiting and funding Bosnian nationals to join Islamic militants there.
Police said on September 3 that some 200 officers were involved in an ongoing operation across the capital, Sarajevo, and in several other towns in the Balkan country.
According to sources at Bosnia’s State Investigation and Protection Agency, those arrested included Bilal Bosnic, the leader of a radical Islamic community in western Bosnia who publicly supports Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria and calls on Bosnian Muslims to join the group.
Officials estimate up to 340 Bosnians have joined jihadist groups fighting in Iraq and Syria.
In April, Bosnia introduced prison terms of up to 10 years for its citizens who fight in conflicts abroad and their recruiters.
