Troops grab Karadzic 'bodyguard'

By Nick Hawton
BBC, Sarajevo

Karadzic led Bosnian Serbs in the bloody conflict

Nato-led peacekeepers in Bosnia have arrested a man suspected of being a chief bodyguard of the indicted war criminal Radovan Karadzic.

Bosnian Serb police said Nato troops in plain clothes arrested Zeljko Jankovic, known as Luna, outside his home in the northern Bosnian town of Bijeljina.

Mr Karadzic has been charged with genocide by the United Nations War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague.

The former Bosnian Serb leader has been on the run for the past eight years.

Mr Jankovic was arrested by massed Nato troops on Wednesday morning.

A special unit of Italian carabinieri later searched the man's house, and material was taken away, which, according to Nato may help in the hunt for alleged war criminals.

The arrest was based on information received in a raid two weeks ago when Nato-led peacekeepers carried out a large-scale operation in the former Bosnian Serb stronghold of Pale.

Nato has come in for strong criticism for its failure to arrest Mr Karadzic as well as his wartime military commander, Ratko Mladic.

But these recent operations suggest a new determination. One reason may be the fact that Nato peacekeeping operations are due to finish at the end of this year, and there may be a desire to settle unfinished business before they leave.