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REUTERS/ Alaa Al-Faqir
If Russia and the United States join their counterterrorism efforts and launch a comprehensive large-scale operation to tackle Daesh in the Middle East, the militants will most likely flee to the Balkans, primarily Bosnia and Herzegovina, experts told Sputnik Serbia.
Bosnia
will become an "ideal refuge of last resort" for terrorists fleeing
Iraq and Syria due to the existing infrastructure, an expert
on terrorism Djevad Galijasevic asserted.
Milan
Pasanski, president of the Forum for the Study of International
Terrorism, shared these sentiments, saying that militants will most
likely refrain from crossing the borders of the European Union since EU
law enforcement and counterterrorism services have been on high alert.
They will instead settle in the European periphery, primarily Kosovo,
the Serbian region of Sandžak and Bosnia, he suggested.
The latest developments in Austria appear to confirm Pasanski's assessment.
Last week, imam Nedžad Balkan was arrested in the Austrian capital of Vienna. Galijasevic described him as the most radical, but not the most dangerous Islamic fundamentalist of Bosnian origin.
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"Islamist infrastructure has been around in
Bosnia for the last three decades. There are no obstacles preventing it
from developing. Propaganda of [radical ideas] and financial assistance
[to extremists] have continued unabated. One can buy any weapon
in Bosnia. Some terrorists have their own banks," he detailed.
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Sputnik/ Iliya Pitalev
Last week, imam Nedžad Balkan was arrested in the Austrian capital of Vienna. Galijasevic described him as the most radical, but not the most dangerous Islamic fundamentalist of Bosnian origin.
"Balkan is considered to be an expert
in interpreting Islamic religious texts, particularly those on prophet
Ibrahim. Balkan founded the İbrahim Milleti project. Several years ago
the German police conducted a large-scale operation arresting Wahhabis
affiliated with the project," the analyst said. "He is the most radical
Islamist with ties to Bosnia and Herzegovina in Vienna, but he is not
the most dangerous one. In this respect, hafiz Muhamed Fadil Porča, who
represents the Dawa Salafia union, is more dangerous."
The
analyst added that Nedžad Balkan is active beyond Vienna, conducting
operations in the Austrian cities of Linz, Klagenfurt and Graz. He was
also active in other countries, most notably Switzerland and Germany.
"By detaining Nedžad Balkan Austrian authorities have indicated that
if a second wave of refugees comes, they will not turn the blind eye
on the fact that terrorists could be among them. It's common knowledge
that Vienna has become a place where Islamic fundamentalists, with some
coming from Bosnia, gather," Pasanski said.
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