3 of armed individuals killed after attack on Kosovar police: Prime minister

BELGRADE, Serbia

Three of the armed ethnic Serbs who attacked police in northern Kosovo on Sunday morning have been killed and several others injured have been detained, Kosovar Prime Minister Albin Kurti said on Sunday.

“What we have learned so far, as we thought before, is that it is a professional terrorist/criminal structure that planned and prepared what they did today for a long time. They do not represent a smuggling ring, but a mercenary structure supported politically, financially, and logistically by Belgrade,” Kurti said at the commemoration event held for police officer Afrim Bunjaku who was killed in the clash.

Earlier, he said that at least 30 heavily armed people have been surrounded by police in the country’s north, as a clash between the police and gunmen left one police officer dead and another injured.

Internal Minister Xhelal Svecla said that police continued their hunt for the attackers.

"The entire territory of the country was taken under control,” Svecla said, adding that the police have seized a large number of weapons.

Earlier, police said in a statement that a group of armed Serbs blocked a bridge leading to Banjska village, located near the city of Mitrovica, with two trucks lacking license plates.

A shootout erupted after the group opened fire on police who went to the scene to investigate the issue.

A large number of security forces were dispatched to the region, and the Brnjak border crossing point between Kosovo and Serbia was closed.

Serbia and Kosovo face many disputes as Belgrade sees its neighbor as its territory and has blocked its efforts to join international organizations and obtain recognition from other states.

The leaders of the two nations met in EU-facilitated talks in Brussels to normalize relations. But, the parties have so far struggled to implement the agreements reached.