IS buying land in Bosnia to execute terror attacks in Europe

London

In a move to increase the terrorist activities in West, the Islamic State terror group is secretly buying land near an isolated village in Bosnia in the heart of Europe, a media report said on Sunday.

At least 12 IS fighters trained in the village of Osve have left for Syria in recent months and five are reported to be dead, a Sunday Mirror investigation said. Crucially, the location gives IS a key strategic position due to its proximity to the Mediterranean, which is used by extremists from Syria, Iraq and North Africa, the report said.

Security services think the area in Bosnia is used for IS training camps and could be a base for devastating terror attacks on the West. Counter-terrorism expert Dzevad Galijasevic said: "From this village a large number of people went to Syria and are going constantly. The chosen location of some of the properties is on a hill, where there is no possibility to approach without being seen. It is clear that the source of the terrorist threat is right there," Galijasevic said.

The newspaper said the hilltop village is not mapped by GPS and is only accessible by steep and winding roads barely wide enough for cars to pass. A number of houses there appear to have been abandoned or only half built and it is not overlooked by any other settlement.