16 arrested in Bosnia for supporting radical Islamist groups

The authorities in Bosnia have arrested 16 people they claim have gone to fight for radical Islamist groups in Syria and Iraq at a time the issue of foreigners fighting in those conflicts has seized the attention of the media and governments around the world.  

Reuters reports that the arrests were made by 200 officers working in conjunction under the supervision of the State Investigation and Protection Agency. The arrests were made in 16 separate raids on locations throughout Bosnia.

In April, Bosnia passed a law that instituted 10-year sentences for people who go to fight in foreign conflicts or recruit Bosnians to fight in such wars.

A spokesperson said those arrested played a role in financing, organizing, and recruiting people to fight in Syria and Iraq.

Around 45 percent of Bosnia's population is Muslim and it is believed that several hundred Bosnians have travelled to the Middle East to fight for radical jihadist groups, according to Reuters. Several dozen of these fighters are confirmed to have died in battle, including suicide attacks.

Most of these fighters are drawn from Bosnia's rural countryside.

Reuters says the raids also turned up a significant amount of weapons and ammunition. A prominent member of Bosnia's ultra-conservative Muslim community that adheres to a Salafi interpretation of Islam was said to be among those arrested.

Last month, Bilal Bosnic, the prominent radical, issued a public call for young Bosnians to travel to Iraq and Syria so they could become soldiers for the Islamic State, according to Reuters.

Bosnia is not the only European country to be coping with this issue. In the past few weeks, a number of French teenagers have been detained for trying to leave the country and join the Islamic State.

In a testament to the influence of foreigners in the Islamic State, the man who beheaded two U.S. citizens in videos posted to social media addressed the camera with a British accent.