Bosnian accused of plotting Nato chief's assassination

A man has been accused of plotting to assassinate the commander of the Nato-led peacekeeping force in Bosnia.

Police in Mostar arrested the 31-year-old after discovering an automatic rifle with a silencer and a telescopic sight as well as a small amount of ammunition on the back seat of his car during a routine traffic stop.

The name and ethnic background of the man has not been released.

"We are focusing on this arrest because of the type of weapon found and the fact that at the same time, the Nato commander in Bosnia, General John Sylvester, was in town," police said.

"Obviously, the fact that General. Sylvester was in Mostar at the time of this arrest causes us concern," Major Scott Lundy, spokesman for the 18,000 strong peacekeeping contingent in Bosnia.

Nato troops arrested a Bosnian Serb on Sunday, who was the top civilian administrator in the UN protected Srebrenica enclave during a massacre in which up to 8,000 Islamic boys and men were killed seven years ago.

Miroslav Deronjic, who has been indicted by the UN War Crimes Tribunal for crimes against humanity, was seized in his house in Bratunac, eastern Bosnia.

Deronjic was also allegedly involved in the 1992 destruction of a Muslim village near Srebrenica, in which 60 Bosnian Muslims were killed.