Bosnian police have arrested 11 people suspected of alleged ties with Islamic State and its militants fighting in Syria and Iraq.
The prosecutor's office said in a statement Tuesday searches in the wider Sarajevo area, capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, targeted 15 people and the police found evidence indicating connections with Islamic State structures.
It said raids were conducted near the military barracks in the suburb of Rajlovac where a gunman killed two Bosnian army soldiers in November in what authorities qualified as an act of terrorism.
Speaking to reporters, a federal police inspector, Marina Zulic, said that the suspects were involved in inciting and organizing terrorist attacks.
"In this operation 11 people linked to terrorism, financing of terrorism, inciting and organizing criminal acts, and recruiting fighters for wars in other countries have been arrested," said Zulic.
Zulic added that they used private houses for the religious gatherings and organized lectures without permission of the Islamic Community in the county.
Bosnian authorities have said that more than 150 Bosnians have left the country to fight for Islamic State in Syria and Iraq in the past few years. More than 50 have returned to Bosnia and about 30 were killed in combat.
