Bosnia on Alert after 'Islamist' Attack on Police

Bosnia was on high alert Tuesday after a deadly suspected Islamist attack on a police station, as the authorities voiced fears of worse to come.

Shouting "Allahu Akbar", a gunman opened fire on a police station in the eastern town of Zvornik on Monday evening, killing one officer and wounding two others before being killed in a shootout.

Police said they have arrested one suspect, but gave no details, while several people have been interrogated over the shooting.

The attack appears to be the first of its kind in Bosnia's Serb-controlled territory.

Bosnian Security Minister Dragan Mektic told reporters that the authorities were looking into the motives of "this criminal act". 

"We should understand how and where this act was planned and also if there was a possible larger context in its planning," he added.

The gunman was identified as 24-year-old Nerdin Ibric from a village near Zvornik, which is in the Serb-run part of Bosnia, Republika Srpska.

"It is clear that motives behind this terrorist attack are religious and terrorist... It is certainly not an isolated act," Republika Srpska president Milorad Dodik told local television channel RTRS.

Since the 1992-1995 war, Bosnia has been split into two semi-independent entities -- the Republika Srpska and the Muslim-Croat Federation, each with its own government.

"I fear this could be the beginning of much worse events in the whole of Bosnia," Bosnian Interior Minister Dragan Lukac said.

"Everything indicates that he belonged to (ultra-conservative Islamist) Wahhabi movement. We have yet to verify whether this is an isolated act or if other people are involved," Lukac said.

Bosnia's Muslims make up 40 percent of the country's 3.8 million inhabitants and the vast majority practise a moderate form of Islam.

However, Islamist extremists have made their presence felt before in the Balkan country.

In October 2011, an Islamist opened fire on the U.S. embassy in Sarajevo, wounding a policeman before being injured himself and arrested.

In June 2010, an Islamist set off an explosive device at a police station in the central Bosnian town of Bugojno, killing one officer and wounding six others.

More recently, some 150 Bosnians are believed to have joined jihadists groups fighting in Iraq and Syria, while some 50 others have returned to Bosnia, according to the intelligence services.