Bosnia police arrest five terrorism suspects

SARAJEVO, March 21 (Reuters) - The Bosnian police said on Friday they had arrested five people suspected of being part of an organised group planning terrorist actions in the Balkan country.

Police in Bosnia's Muslim-Croat federation arrested the suspects on Thursday after raiding six locations in Sarajevo and the central town of Bugojno, where they found weapons, ammunition and military equipment.

The haul included anti-tank mines, laser navigators, electronic equipment and an explosive device, said police spokesman Robert Cvrtak.

"They have found topographical maps, instructions on how to make bombs and other items that can be used to perform the act of terrorism," he said.

Cvrtak said the arrests were conducted on the orders of Bosnia's state court after months of investigation by the state security agency and the prosecutor's office. The suspects were handed over to the prosecution.

Local media on Friday quoted unnamed sources as saying that all the suspects were wahhabis, the name used in Bosnia for the strict followers of Islam. The prosecutor's office and Cvrtak did not confirm the reports.

A Bosnian court last year jailed two Muslims for 15 and 13 years for preparing terrorist attacks on Western targets. (Reporting by Daria Sito-Sucic, editing by Tim Pearce)