BUDIMIR: SERIOUS RISK - "SLEEPERS" LINKED TO RADICAL ISLAM

BANJA LUKA, May 15 /SRNA/ - A serious security risk in BiH are "sleepers" linked to radical Islamic movements, as BiH was the first European base for international Islamism through jihadi fighters who even had their own brigades during the previous war, warned Željko Budimir, the minister for scientific and technological development and higher education of Republika Srpska.

Budimir has recalled that BiH is, in some ways, linked to terrorist attacks around the world, as it is home to several thousand "sleepers" linked to radical Islam who fought in Middle East battlefields.

Commenting on reports that individuals associated with the Wahhabi movement conducted exercises at a military barracks near Mostar with the approval of Zukan Helez, the Minister of Defence in the Council of Ministers, which is being covered up, Budimir points out that this is not the first time facilities of the BiH Armed Forces have been used for such purposes.

"We already know of a case at the same barracks near Mostar where individuals linked to radical Islam carried out certain types of training. This wouldn't surprise me either, although I heard this information from you," Budimir said replying to a journalist's question.

He emphasized that individuals like Helez only contribute to such an environment, creating the illusion that they are the masters of BiH, but they are not.

"Our police agencies will certainly have the strength to protect the citizens of Republika Srpska from such phenomena, and we’ve long known that such things have been happening in the Federation of BiH," Budimir concluded.