Suspect held over Croatia killing

A key suspect in the murder of a prominent editor and his colleague in Croatia has been arrested in Belgrade, Serbia's interior minister says.

Ivica Dacic told B92 radio that Zeljko Milovanovic had been arrested at a flat in the centre of the Serbian capital.

Ivo Pukanic, owner of the weekly paper Nacional, and his marketing chief, Niko Franic, were killed by a bomb in Croatia's capital Zagreb last October.

The paper had run a series of articles about organised crime in the Balkans.

The killing of Mr Pukanic and Mr Franic followed a wave of attacks linked to criminals in Croatia - including the murder of Ivana Hodak, daughter of a prominent lawyer.

Crackdown pledge

Interior Minister Dacic was quoted by B92 radio as saying Mr Milovanovic had been arrested late on Sunday.

Arms and ammunition were reportedly found at the flat.

Mr Milovanovic was arrested under an Interpol warrant issued by Croatian police, who suspect him of transporting the explosives that were detonated near the Nacional offices, killing the two newspaper bosses.

Mr Milovanovic, 42, is reported to be an ethnic Serb with Bosnian and Croatian nationality.

The series of mafia-style killings in Croatia last year led the government to declare a crackdown on organised crime - which involved setting up special courts and improving witness protection.

Tackling crime was one of the key criteria Croatia was required to fulfil to qualify for membership of the European Union, which it hopes to join by 2011.