"Considering that a certain number of persons of interest are located in the area of Osve, SIPA constantly collects, analyzes and exchanges intelligence with other law enforcement agencies regarding possible planning, preparing, organizing and recruiting for terrorist attacks," SIPA spokeswoman Kristina Jozic said.
The isolated village of Osve received media attention following last week’s UK media investigation revealing ISIL militants secretly buying land with a view to use it as a staging ground for future terrorist attacks in Europe.
In a written statement to Sputnik, Jozic reaffirmed that "all human, material and technical resources are made available to the fight against terrorism."
By setting up operations in Osve, ISIL fighters are reportedly exploiting the high level of youth unemployment in Bosnia – estimated by the World Bank to have been over 60 percent in 2012 – to recruit new militants.
Bosnia saw major clashes between Bosnian Muslims, Christian Orthodox Serbs and Catholic Croats during the country's civil war in 1992-1995. Two-fifths of the Bosnian population is Muslim, around 30 percent are Orthodox and some 15 percent – Catholic.
Over 300 Bosnians joined Sunni militant organizations in Syria and Iraq in 2015, according to the findings of the International Centre for the Study of Radicalization at King's College.
