BOSNIAN TROOPS START WITHDRAWING FROM MOUNT IGMAN DZ

SARAJEVO, Oct 7 (Hina) - Bosnian Serbs threatened retaliation in response to yesterday's action of Bosnian Army troops who neutralized a Serb military post at Mount Igman, a UN spokesman, Tim Spicer, said today in Sarajevo. Colonel Jacques Chevalier, a representative of UNPROFOR in Sarajevo, said most of 550 Bosnian Army troops had withdrawn by midnight from the demilitarized zone (DZ) around Igman, from which the attack had been launched against the Serb post on Thursday morning. The French peace keepers were blowing up the Bosnian Army bankers and trenches with anti-tank rockets so that they could not be used any more. UN peace forces would insist on the complete withdrawal of the Bosnian troops from the zone, Colonel Chevalier said. In the event they would not leave the Mount Igman DZ, more resolute action would be undertaken by UNPROFOR, Tim Spicer said. He declined to say what kind of the action would be carried out. He described some details of yesterday's incident on Mount Igman. Two groups of Bosnian commandos surreptitiously approached the Serb command post near the hamlet of Rakitnica on Igman between 6 and 8:30 a.m. Thursday. Taking them by surprise the commandos killed 16 Serb officers and soldiers and 4 women nurses. The raid left 6 people wounded. The UNPROFOR officials were informed of the attack at about 8:30 a.m. yesterday. A French officer in UNPROFOR patrol said that the killed people had visible traces of wounds inflicted in a hand-to-hand fight. He confirmed that a Serb commander was also killed in the raid. A possible aim of the yesterday's Bosnian Army action may be to cut off a strategic road to the town of Trnovo (some 30 km south of Sarajevo). If the road were cut off, Bosnian Serb would be forced to conduct serious negotiations on reopening the 'blue roads' to the Sarajevo. (hina) mar mm 071504 MET oct 94