US counterterrorism coordinator Nathan Sales is visiting Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania and Kosovo to discuss how to improve cooperation in fighting terrorism and prosecuting suspects.
Nathan Sales, the US Coordinator for Counterterrorism, will continue his official visit to the Balkans until October 20, visiting Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania and Kosovo, all countries that have faced problems with Islamist radicalisation.
“He will engage in bilateral discussions with his counterparts on counterterrorism cooperation, combatting terrorist travel, the prosecution of terrorists, and border security,” the US State Department said in a statement.
The State Department’s 2017 terrorism country reports, published last month, said that Balkan states cooperate well with international partners on counter-terrorism but face a lack of resources and problems of cooperation between institutions.
Extremist ideologies and regional nationalist groups remain potential sources of terrorism in Bosnia and Herzegovina, although the country remains a cooperative counter-terrorism partner and continued to increase its counter-terrorism capacity in 2017, the State Department report said.
A total of 260 Bosnian citizens went to fight in Syria and Iraq, and 80 of them have returned to Bosnia. It is estimated that some 60 Bosnians are still in these countries, although most of them were killed in the conflicts, according to data obtained by BIRN.
The Bosnian state court has issued 14 verdicts for terrorism recruiting, fighting abroad and attempting to go to the Syrian battlefield.
Twenty-three people have been convicted and sentenced to a total of 44 years and five months of imprisonment. Two of these 23 were convicted of arms possession.
The latest case to be adjudicated in the country was on October 8 when a court in Banja Luka in the Serb-dominated Republika Srpska entity convicted a man called Milan Macura of terrorism, giving him a year of probation.
For more read the full of article at The Balkaninsight
