US Embassy in Bosnia Attacked by Islamic Extremist
The man who opened fire with an automatic weapon on the U.S. Embassy in Sarajevo, Bosnia Friday, has been reported to be an Islamist Extremist from the conservative Wahhabi branch.
There was a 30-minute standoff between police and the shooter, who managed to injure a security guard and place the embassy under lockdown. A sniper was able to strike the shooter in the leg, who was then quickly apprehended by police.
One of Bosnia’s three presidents, Bakir Izetbegovic, deemed the incident a terrorist attack, and promised that his country would not tolerate any threats and attacks against the U.S. representatives on its soil.
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According to Mayor Alija Behman, the man was armed with a Kalashnikov and opened fire directly at the US embassy as he stepped out of a tram.
The man’s exact mission is unknown at this time, but witnesses shared with Bosnian TV that he told them to get out of the way when he started shooting at the building. The U.S. embassy assured that none of its staff were injured in the incident, and thanked the police for their swift response.
Authorities are investigating whether the man acted on his own behalf or if he was part of an organization or group. However, he was reported to have been dressed in an outfit associated with Wahhabi, a branch of Islam. The conservative group is based in Saudi Arabia and has ties with military groups in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Dnevni Avaz, a Sarajevo newspaper, came out with more detailed information about the attacker. He is said to be a citizen of Serbia, born in the Muslim region of Sandzak. The newspaper claimed that the man joined the Wahhabi Muslims when he went to live at a small village called Gornja Moaca.
During the Bosnian civil war in the 1990s, Islamist fighters were recruited in the fight on the side of Bosnian Muslims who were being attacked by extremist Orthodox and Catholic groups.
