Election attack foiled in Yugoslavia: NATO

U.N. administrator Bernard Kouchner says the captured Yugoslav troops had been preparing to mount a bomb attack

PRISTINA, Kosovo (Reuters) -- A bid by Yugoslav special forces to mount a "terrorist" attack in Kosovo in the run-up to Yugoslavia's federal elections has been foiled by KFOR peacekeepers, NATO officials have said.

Two suspected undercover members of the Yugoslav Army's special forces were caught in central Kosovo on what NATO peacekeepers said on Tuesday was a terrorist mission.

A cache of weapons and explosives was also seized in the Serb enclave of Gracanica, south of the capital Pristina, as Kosovo braced for Yugoslav elections on Sunday and its own local election in a month's time.

NATO troops combing a Serb-populated area caught the men on Monday night. A third Serb was also arrested as troops uncovered ammunition, machine pistols, detonators, hand grenades and wiring stashed near a cemetery.

"The purpose of the equipment we confiscated was to create fear and to intimidate the people of Kosovo," General Juan Ortuno, commander of the KFOR peacekeeping mission, told a news conference.

United Nations administrator for Kosovo Bernard Kouchner said two of the detainees were "believed to be serving, or former members, of the Yugoslav forces, the VJ, based in Nis (southeastern Serbia)."

"This is very serious. It is an obvious attempt to destabilise Kosovo and to target the democracy, peace and security of Kosovo, and the world must know about it," Kouchner said.

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Diplomatic sources said the group had been tracked for some time by KFOR intelligence.

"They were following them for a few weeks and if they hadn't caught them now there was a danger of something big blowing up," a Kosovo-based Western diplomat said.

NATO has frequently warned that Yugoslav forces, after being driven from Kosovo by alliance bombing in June last year, were infiltrating the province to destabilise the population.

Belgrade regularly asserts that KFOR has failed to enforce law and order or protect minorities.

Brigadier Robert Fry of Britain said the operation began shortly before midnight with a force of about 300 Swedish and British troops and was completed by first light.

They searched three locations near the centre of Grancanica, one of the main Serb enclaves in central Kosovo, where Serb villages are heavily protected by KFOR from potential violence by ethnic Albanian extremists.

The confiscated weapons included a Scorpion machine pistol, four automatics, plastic explosives, an electronic timer, a Kalashnikov rifle, detonators and a Jordanian U.N. identity pass.

Asked what proof NATO had found linking the two to Yugoslav special forces, Fry said they had been passed into international police custody and refused to comment further.

"What I will however say is that prior to their detention I had intelligence which I found compelling to link them to the VJ and to the special forces organisation in Nis."

Fry said six people had originally been detained, but three were later released. Questioned about the significance of the Jordanian pass, he said there were "lots of accoutrements" associated with KFOR and the United Nations administration.

"I think that they were in the business of creating an explosive device for use in Kosovo," Fry said. But he declined to speculate on what the possible target might have been.

"I think the overall effect that they wanted to achieve is patently obvious," Fry said. "What this is, is very clearly associated with Serbia."

Copyright 2000 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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