An attack by a 14-year-old who broke into a police station in north-west Bosnia – killing one officer and injuring another – has been described by authorities as an act of terrorism.
The assault happened around at 9pm on Thursday (8pm BST) in the town of Bosanska Krupa.
The assailant, born in 2009, went into the local police station and stabbed the officers in a “totally unprovoked” attack, police said.
Prosecutors working to determine the motive and all the circumstances of the attack characterised it as a terrorist assault. They said the injured officer is in a stable condition in hospital.
Chief Prosecutor Merima Mesanovic said: “Unofficially, the motive is an attack on the institution, ie the police station as an authority, with the aim of intimidating the population.
“In addition to the motive, it will be checked whether he was encouraged to do this and whether there are any extreme groups behind him.”
Local police chief Adnan Habibija said the authorities are surprised that a 14-year-old “dared to enter the police station and attack the police officers”.
“I think this is an alarm and we as a society should ask ourselves what is happening here,” he said.
Officials said they could not reveal more details of the attack because the suspect is a minor. Authorities have raised security measures following the attack.
A video from Bosanska Krupa showed a policeman standing in the street with a rifle.
Bosanska Krupa is located some 120 miles north-west of Bosnia’s capital, Sarajevo.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here