US PRESS CLAIMS ATTACKS ON US TROOPS IN BOSNIA THWARTED

WASHINGTON, Oct 24 (Hina) - NATO officials from Brussels claim terrorist attacks on two military bases of US Stabilisation Force (SFOR) troops in Bosnia-Herzegovina have been prevented recently, the "Wall Street Journal" reported on Wednesday. Quoting anonymous sources, a correspondent for the paper said the targets of the attacks were the US base "Eagle" near the northern town of Tuzla and the military camp "Connor" near Srebrenica in eastern Bosnia. The terrorists reportedly intended to use planes from an airport at Visoko near Sarajevo. Supporting this claim, the paper says two pistols, a rifle and three hand-grenades were confiscated at the airport on September 27. The Wall Street Journal says the attacks were prevented thanks to a series of arrests carried out by the Bosnian police in cooperation with Interpol, UN police forces, and security services from several countries. Among the arrested were six Algerians, who are still in prison, and three Egyptians and a Jordanian, who have been extradited to their countries. Security services are particularly interested in one of the arrested, Bensayah Belkacem, who had passports of several countries, including Bosnia, and who is believed to be connected to the terrorist organisation Al Qaida. The Wall Street Journal reports NATO officials expect further arrests. (hina) np