SIX SUSPECTED TERRORISTS IN BOSNIA UNDER INVESTIGATION

SARAJEVO, Oct 23 (Hina) - The police of the Federation of Bosnia- Herzegovina have arrested six suspected terrorists since October 8, a spokesman for the UN mission to Bosnia, Stefo Lehman, said in Sarajevo on Tuesday. He confirmed that all six arrested persons had Algerian, while some also had Bosnian citizenship. A 30-day detention was set to all six and an investigation is conducted by the Bosnian Federation Supreme Court, Lehman said. After the arrest of Bensay Belkacem, suspected of having close ties with an official of the Al-Quaida terrorist organisation, new arrests took place on October 17. The United States' and British embassies in Sarajevo were closed on the same day due to terrorist threats. The Federal police immediately arrested two persons and later identified one as Saber Lahmar. Sarajevo media paid great attention to the arrest of Saber Lahmar. He turned out to be an extremely suspicious person whose activities would not be tolerated in any country. In 1998 he was convicted for robbery and sentenced to five years and eight months in prison. Lehmanr, however, spent only three years in prison because the then president of the Bosnian Federation, Ejup Ganic, pardoned him on January 6 of this year. According to court documents, the Algerian was also hired by a Saudi humanitarian organisation, and thus received Bosnian citizenship for a US$1,000 fee. (hina) it sb