Sarajevo: A man opened
fire with an automatic weapon on Saturday in what authorities called
a terrorist attack on the US Embassy in Bosnia.
A policeman and the gunman were wounded, but the embassy
said none of its employees was hurt.
Sarajevo Mayor Alija Behmen said the gunman "got off a
tram with a Kalashnikov and started shooting at the American
Embassy." Witnesses told Bosnian television that the man urged
pedestrians to move away, saying he was targeting only the
embassy.
He wore a beard and was dressed in an outfit with short
pants that reveal his ankles typical for followers of the
conservative Wahhabi branch of Islam.
One police officer guarding the building was wounded
before police surrounded the gunman. After a 30-minute
standoff, the sound of a single shot echoed and AP video
showed the shooter slump to the ground.
Police arrested the wounded man who one of Bosnia's three
presidents said is a foreigner and took him away in an
ambulance as pedestrians cowered behind buildings and
vehicles.
Hospital spokeswoman Biljana Jandric told The Associated
Press the gunman had a minor wound to his leg, and would spend
the night at the hospital before being released into police
custody.
Bosnian TV identified the shooter as Mevlid Jasarevic,
from Novi Pazar, Serbia. It said he is a Wahhabi follower.
Serbian Interior Minister Ivica Dacic confirmed his identity.
The Wahhabis are an extremely conservative branch which
is rooted in Saudi Arabia and linked to religious militants in
parts of Afghanistan and Pakistan.
PTI
First Published: Saturday, October 29, 2011, 08:56