Kosovo police thwart car bomb attack in Pristina

Kosovo police have foiled a potential bomb attack in the capital, Pristina, on Christmas Day after stopping a Serbian national in an explosive-ridden vehicle.

Interior Minister Skender Hyseni said in a statement on Friday that Kosovo’s security forces had seized over 12 kilograms (26.5 pounds) of explosives in the car in Pristina on Thursday.

He added that if the explosives had gone off in a public place, “human casualties would have been enormous.”

The statement further identified the car’s driver as “a citizen of Serbia…with permanent residence in Belgrade, and (carrying) Belgrade license plates on his car.”

According to police spokesman, Baki Kelani, the vehicle which was “filled with a huge quantity of explosive material,” was stopped late Thursday in a residential area in Kosovo’s capital that is home to many embassies and diplomats.

Born in 1968, the driver who is only known by the initials S.G., was immediately arrested, Kelani said.

Kosovo has started an investigation into the incident.

Meanwhile, a senior police official involved in the probe said the explosives, which “could be ignited remotely,” are “of a type and quantity suitable for the destruction of large objects.”

Local media reports said a possible target of the thwarted bombing could have been the Catholic cathedral in the city center close to the arrest site.

Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008. It has so far received international recognition from about 100 countries. However, Serbia refuses to recognize its independence.