Bosnian troops surrounded Gornja Maoca village proclaiming it as 'Wahhabi'

Bosnia's law enforcement and various other agencies officers launched on Tuesday a major raid on the village of Gornja Maoca which is claimed to be a home to followers of the "radical Wahabbi" branch of Islam, targeting people whom authorities "suspect of destabilizing the country".

Bosnia and Herzegovina consists of three autonomous administrative entities: the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Muslim-Croat), the Serbian Republic and the Brcko District. The Brcko District is de facto an autonomous region around the town of Brcko and de jure is a part of the Serbian Republic and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina . The area of the district is 493 square km, the population makes about 80,000 (about 40 % - Serbs, 39 % - Bosnian Muslims (Bosniaks) and 20 % - Croats).

"An operation codenamed "the Light" that involves all police forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina began this morning throughout the Tuzlanski canton and the Brcko District", the local public prosecutor's office said.

The operation in northern Bosnia by 600 police officers is the largest since the end of the country's 1992-95 war, said Boris Grubesic, a spokesman for the public prosecutor.

"The activities are carried out with an aim to locate and prosecute individuals suspected of undermining the territorial integrity and constitutional order and inciting ethnic, racial or religious hatred and intolerance," he said.

Some foreign Islamic fighters or Mujahideen, who stayed on after fighting alongside Bosnian Muslims against Serbs and Croats in the war, formed their own community in the village. They were joined by some local followers of the "Wahabbi" branch.

Most foreign fighters have left the Balkan country under US pressure but the "Wahabbi" branch has attracted many young Bosnian Muslims in recent years.

Police are also "looking for items and evidence of criminal activities seen as important for ongoing criminal proceedings", Grubesic said.

A witness near the scene told Reuters that the police have blocked all entrances to Gornja Maoca so that nobody was allowed to enter the village.

In December a Bosnian court indicted a group of radical Muslims on charges of "terrorism" and arms trafficking. It said they purchased and possessed weapons, explosives and various products suitable for making improvised explosive devices.

Police also found video recordings of people being trained in the use of arms and combat activities to carry out an attack. The court did not name the possible targets.