Group claiming to be KLA says it was behind bombing that damaged 3 U.N. vehicles in Kosovo

Associated Press: Tuesday, February 20, 2007 8:31 AM

PRISTINA, Serbia-A group claimed responsibility Tuesday for a bomb attack that damaged three U.N. vehicles, saying it was in retaliation for the deaths of two ethnic Albanian protesters killed in clashes over a U.N.

proposal on the future of the disputed province.

The group, which distributed a statement by e-mail, claimed to be the Kosovo Liberation Army, the now disbanded guerrilla force that fought for independence against Serb forces during the 1998-1999 conflict. It said it had regrouped in order to "avenge the death of two protesters" during a recent demonstration in Pristina.

Police said they were investigating the statement, the authenticity of which could not be independently verified.

Prime Minister Agim Ceku and opposition leader Hashim Thaci, both once leaders of the guerrilla force and now key negotiators on Kosovo's future, did not comment on the statement.

The KLA was disbanded in 1999 under NATO supervision, and part of it was transformed into the Kosovo Protection Corps, a civilian emergency force which condemned Monday's blast. However, a number of illegal groups sprang out in Kosovo after the war, warning U.N. and Kosovo officials against allowing Belgrade to claim authority over the province.

Monday's bombing targeting the U.N. vehicles caused no injuries, but it increased tensions amid ongoing negotiations on the disputed province's future. Ethnic Albanians are impatient to conclude the process they hope will result in Kosovo becoming an independent state, but the Serb minority has warned of secession in the north of the province if that occurs.

Authorities suspect that a bomb had planted under one of the U.N. vehicles, which were all parked in a residential area of Pristina.

U.S. and European Union officials have warned that violence could hamper ethnic Albanians' quest for independence from Serbia.

Ceku, who visited the blast site late Monday, condemned the attack as "an act of those opposing the process of Kosovo's independence."

"Such criminal acts are absolutely unacceptable for Kosovo's people and its institutions," said Kosovo's President Fatmir Sejdiu.

The attack came about 10 days after clashes erupted between police and several thousand ethnic Albanian protesters objecting to a U.N. proposal on Kosovo's final status. They felt the plan, under which Kosovo would be granted internationally supervised statehood, did not go far enough towards giving the province independence.

Two protesters died of rubber bullet wounds to the head, while another 70 were injured in the demonstration.

On Tuesday, activists from the group "Self-determination," which organized the last protest, called for a demonstration against the U.N. plan on March 3.

ADN KRONOS INTERNATIONAL (ITALY)

Pristina, 20 Feb. (AKI) - An explosion rocked the center of Pristina, capital of Serbia's breakaway Kosovo province late on Monday, damaging four automobiles, but there were no casualties, police said. "The explosion damaged three UN automobiles and a private car," said Kosovo police spokesman Veton Elsani. "Apart from material damage, there were no injuries," Elsani added.

Elsani said the police was investigating the incident that took place at 9.30 pm local time on Monday, near the United Nations headquarters in Pristina. "At the moment we can say nothing about perpetrators and their possible motives," Elsani said.

Kosovo, whose majority ethnic Albanians demand independence, has been under United Nations control since 1999 and UN led negotiations on the province's status are to resume on Wednesday in he Austrian capital, Vienna, after eight rounds of talks held last year failed to bridge the gap between Belgrade, which opposes independence, and ethnic Albanian leaders, who have said they will settle for nothing less.

Kosovo's prime minister Agim Ceku arrived on the scene only a few minutes after the explosion and condemned the "criminal act." He added: "Such acts are directed against the historical process taking place in Kosovo, but perpetrators of these criminal acts must be aware that they can't stop Kosovo on its path towards independence."

Chief UN negotiator Martti Ahtisaari has worked out a plan which would in effect give Kosovo all attributes of a state, but Belgrade and militant ethnic Albanians groups have rejected the proposal. Two people were killed in violent demonstrations in Pristina on 10 February, organised by a militant ethnic Albanian group Vetevendosje (Self-determination) which opposes negotiations and wants Kosovo's parliament to declare independence unilaterally.

Ahtisaari has called the two sides to overcome thir differences in a series of talks to be held in Vienna and modify his plan before it goes for final approval in the UN Security Council in March.