Serb Border Policemen Wounded in Kosovo Ambush

Three ethnic Serb border officers were wounded, one seriously, when gunmen opened fire on their vehicle in northern Kosovo, police said Tuesday.

"Their vehicle was ambushed and came under fire while it was on a road heading towards the border" with Serbia late Monday, police spokesman Besim Hoti told Agence France Presse.

The attack occurred near the village of Banja in the north of the territory whose ethnic Serb majority refuses to recognize Kosovo's 2008 unilateral declaration of independence from Serbia.

"One officer was seriously wounded and underwent surgery, but his life is not endangered," Hoti added.

According to Serbian state-run television RTS, the man was wounded in stomach. Another officer was hit in the leg, while the third was only slightly grazed by a bullet, RTS reported.

The incident occurred on the day of a meeting in Brussels between Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaci and his Serbian counterpart Ivica Dacic under the auspices of European Union policy chief Catherine Ashton.

They were discussing implementation of an EU-brokered deal on the normalization of ties between the former foes reached a year ago.

So far Kosovo's independence has been recognized by more than 100 countries, including the United States and most of the EU's 28 member states.

Belgrade and the Kosovo Serbs still refuse to recognize the secession.