To: Mao II who wrote (3509 ) 3/16/1999 7:00:00 AM From: Dale Baker Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 118717
If you ever despair about American politics, be glad we don't (usually) work this way: March 16, 1999 Ethnic Croat Official Badly Wounded -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A.P. INDEXES: TOP STORIES | NEWS | SPORTS | BUSINESS | TECHNOLOGY | ENTERTAINMENT -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Filed at 6:25 a.m. EST By The Associated Press SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina (AP) -- An ethnic Croat official in the Muslim-Croat Federation government and two other people were injured today in a bomb explosion that wrecked his car, witnesses and police reported. The blast occurred not far from the downtown U.S. Embassy, but apparently was not directed at American interests. Witnesses said Jozo Leutar, the federation's deputy interior minister, was taken away with serious injuries. Croatian radio in Zagreb later reported that doctors in Sarajevo's Kosenvo hospital said he was fighting for his life. Other witnesses later said Leutar's driver and an unidentified personal friend were also in the car and injured. No other details were known. NATO-led peacekeeping troops sealed off a large area to keep onlookers and journalists away. Leutar's white car could be seen from a distance with both doors open and smoldering. A policeman who refused to identify himself confirmed the car bomb explosion but did not provide other details. During the Bosnian war that ended with the signing of the Dayton peace agreement in 1995, Leutar was known as a hard-liner who became an obstacle to reintegration of Bosnia. However, he changed his stance and won a job in the federation government. Leutar also heads the local branch of the ethnic Croat party HDZ, a sister party of the one ruling Croatia.