Raid on extremists in Kosovo

The detained imams, who include one of Kosovo's leading clerics, are suspected of preaching extremism and helping to recruit for the self-proclaimed "Islamic State" (IS). Police confirmed that they had targeted 16 locations across the country in their raid.

Among those arrested was the influential cleric Shefqet Krasniqi from the Grand Mosque in Pristina. Another was Fuad Ramiqi, the leader of the radical Islamic political party LISBA.

In the last such operation in early August, 40 people were arrested on suspicion of fighting with extremists, or of recruiting insurgents for IS. Local media say at least 16 Kosovars have died in fighting in the Middle East this year.

Fears of radicalization

With a population of just under 2 million, Kosovo is a Muslim-majority country, although religion plays only a minor part in public life and takes a moderate form.

Video of police arresting imams may fuel anger among the Islamic faithful in Kosovo. The officers wore black masks to protect their identities in case of reprisals.

A spokesman for the Islamic Community, which hires and pays imams, said: "Nobody is above the law and if there is proof that our employees have threatened the constitutional order, then everyone is equal before the law."

Fears of radicalization among Muslim communities are stirring in other Balkan countries - such as Serbia and Bosnia - with dozens of their citizens also known to have joined Islamist fighters in the Middle East.

Intelligence officials in Kosovo believe between 100 and 200 Kosovars are fighting in Iraq and Syria, where IS militants have seized swathes of land, drawing airstrikes from the US.

On Wednesday, the US ambassador in Kosovo, Tracey Jacobson, lauded the arrests: "Once again I commend Kosovo on its proactive approach against foreign fighters and extremism."

glb/mkg (Reuters, dpa, AFP)