EXPLOSION RATTLES DOWNTOWN DRVAR EARLY SUNDAY MORNING

DRVAR, Jan 8 (Hina) - An explosive device, suspected to be a hand grenade, went off in a flat in central Drvar (Bosnia-Herzegovina) in the early morning hours on Sunday. Fortunately, there were no casualties. According to a police report, although shrapnel had been found in the crib of one-year-old Karla Petricevic, she had not been hurt. The same source revealed all windows had shattered in the explosion. A police officer on duty told Hina he could not confirm what kind of an explosive device went off in the flat, but a hand grenade was suspected. He added an investigation was underway and the International Police Task Force office in the town had been notified about the incident. The Petricevic family told Hina in a telephone conversation they suspected the incident of having been an attempt to intimidate Croats who chose Drvar as their place of residence. Drvar, a town with approximately 100,000 residents has been settled since 1995 mostly by Croats who moved there after being exiled from their homes in other parts of Bosnia-Herzegovina. According to official information dating from last year, between 4,500 to 5,000 Serbs, prior residents, have returned to the town. The owner of the flat, Ivica Petricevic, presumes the bomb was set by a Serb returnee celebrating Christmas by the Julian Calendar. (hina) lml