Serbia's former secret police chief arrested

The authorities in Belgrade have arrested the man who headed the Serbian secret police during the rule of the former Yugoslav president, Slobodan Milosevic.

The Serbian justice minister Vladan Batic said Rade Markovic was detained in connection with a failed attempt to assassinate the Yugoslav opposition leader, Vuk Draskovic, in 1999.

Four senior officials of his Serbian Renewal Movement were killed in the incident , in which a heavy truck veered into Mr Draskovic's motorcade.

The justice minister said he had no information on reports that the former head of the Belgrade police, Branko Djuric, had also been arrested. A BBC correspondent in the Balkans says the new government in Belgrade has been involved in a behind-the-scenes power struggle with the remnants of the old regime over the past few months.

Our correspondent says the detention of Mr Markovic will add to the momentum for the arrest and prosecution of Mr Milosevic himself.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service