Bosnia Detains Four Suspected Jihadists, Seizes Weapons

Authorities in Sarajevo said Tuesday that four suspected Bosnian jihadists were in custody following their arrest and the seizure of a cache of weapons along with an Islamic State flag.

One of the four, 22-year-old Senad Kostac, was detained in Turkey on the road to Syria and handed over to Bosnian authorities, said a prosecutor's statement.

The other three, aged 26, 27 and 55, were arrested in Kostac's village of Velika Kladusa in northwestern Bosnia, accused of "trying to join a foreign paramilitary unit".

During a police raid, several hand grenades, landmines, a machine gun, various bullets and a flag of the Islamic State group were seized.

According to local media, the brother of one of the three arrested in Velika Kladusa died in January last year at the Syrian front.

In December, Bosnia arrested 11 suspected jihadists accused of planning to carry out an attack during the holiday season in Sarajevo.

A local court ordered the detention of eight of them for a month, while three others have been released.

Of some 200 Bosnian nationals who joined jihadist groups in Syria and Iraq in 2012 and 2013, at least 26 have died while about 50 have returned to the Balkan country, authorities say.

Last year, Bosnia hardened its legislation, allowing sentences of up to 20 years in jail for jihadists and their recruiters.

Around 40 percent of Bosnia's 3.8 million people are Muslim, most of whom follow a moderate form of Islam. The rest of the population are mostly Orthodox and Catholic Christians.