SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina - Nov 24, 2005 - Quick cooperation by law enforcement officials in four European countries and the United States appears to have stopped a terrorist cell of 14 Muslims spanning from Bosnia to Britain that may have been planning a suicide attack in Europe or America, officials say.

The coordination underscores how Balkan nations that were once shunned by the West because of years of ethnic bloodshed have become an increasingly important ally in the war on terror.

Only three of the 14 suspects taken into custody in the case have been formally charged, and investigations in several countries remain under way. But police in Sarajevo confiscated a suicide bomber belt and a video of masked men begging God's forgiveness for the sacrifice they were about to commit.

"Bosnian law enforcement agencies have proven that they are a serious partner that can be counted on in the international fight against terrorism and a valuable link in the chain of anti-terrorist network," Kevin Carthy, the head of the European Union police mission to Bosnia, said in an interview with The Associated Press.

The probe began Oct. 19, when police in Bosnia arrested Mirsad Bektasevic, 19, a Swedish citizen, and Cesur Abdulkadir, 18, a Turkish national, in Sarajevo, on suspicion they were preparing terrorist activities. Neither has been formally charged.

Police searching their apartment found a suicide bomber belt, explosives, firearms and other military equipment, as well as a videotape showing masked men begging God's forgiveness for the sacrifice they were planning, officials said. The tape had been made 20 hours before the raid on Bektasevic's and Abdulkadir's apartment, and fragments of it were aired on Bosnian television.

Last week, Bosnian police arrested two other terror suspects, both Bosnian nationals, in Sarajevo and said they were linked to Bektasevic and Abdulkadir. The police did not identify the suspects or formally charge them.

Clues in the case were promptly shared with intelligence services in Denmark, Sweden, Britain and the United States, leading to arrests of other terrorist suspects in those countries.

On Oct. 21-22, British police arrested three British Muslim men, and officials in Denmark took seven others into custody on Oct. 27-31.

"There certainly have been a number of concerns raised since 9/11 over militant activity in a variety of Balkan countries, particularly Albania and Bosnia," said Alex Standish, editor of Janes Intelligence Digest.

He said that with U.N. and NATO forces still present in Bosnia, "it would be very unusual if there were not a degree of international cooperation."

A British official familiar with their case said the three British suspects were arrested in connection with the two in Sarajevo and the seven in Denmark. The official alleged that a conspiracy had been under way involving the three suspects in London and the two in Bosnia, and that they had exchanged phone numbers. The official said materials found during the Sarajevo raid included 19 kilograms (42 pounds) of plastic explosives.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the British court that is handling the three men's case has barred the British media from publishing evidence about it.

Two of the British defendants, Younis Tsouli and Waseem Mughal, both 22, face several charges, including conspiracy to murder and cause an explosion in an alleged terrorist bomb plot. One of the charges against Tsouli alleges that video footage stored on the hard drive of a computer in his bedroom showed how to make a car bomb and another showed a number of places in Washington. The charge sheet did not name the places.

A U.S. law enforcement official has said the American Capitol was among the locations contained in short video clips. The investigation is continuing, but U.S. federal authorities have said they were skeptical that an attack on the U.S. capital was being planned.

One of the charges alleges that police found a DVD in Mughal's bedroom titled "Martyrdom Operations Vest." He is also charged with possessing a piece of paper with information about a recipe for rocket propellant and guidance on causing an explosion. Police allegedly found a piece of paper in his home with the Arabic phrase: "Welcome to Jihad," or holy war.

The third defendant, 19-year-old Tariq Al-Daour, faces less serious charges, including conspiracy to obtain money by deception and Terrorism Act offenses relating to possession of money for terrorist purposes and fund-raising.

Danish police said the seven young Muslims who were taken into custody in Denmark are being investigated in a case linked to the detentions of the Bektasevic and Abdulkadir.

"We're in close dialogue with the authorities in Sarajevo," Skovgaard Larsen, a Danish police spokesman, said in an interview. The suspects have not been charged, but Copenhagen police suspect they belonged to, or assisted, a terror network planning an attack in Europe.

In Sarajevo, Bektasevic's lawyer, Idriz Kamenica, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that his client has been interrogated by American, British, Danish and Swedish investigators.

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Associated Press writers Thomas Wagner in London, Karl Ritter in Stockholm, and Jan Olsen in Copenhagen contributed to this story.

Source: Calibre Macro*World