Terrorist Cells Find Foothold in Balkans: Arrests Point to Attacks Within Europe

Islamic radicals are looking to create cells of so-called white al-Qaeda, non-Arab members who can evade racial profiling used by police forces to watch for potential terrorists.

"They want to look European to carry out operations in Europe," said a Western intelligence agent in Belgrade.

During the three-sided war in Bosnia, hundreds of fighters from Arab and other Middle Eastern countries flocked to Bosnia to fight on behalf of the Muslim faction against Croats and Serbs.

Many of the foreign mujaheddin, or holy warriors, were expelled after the war, but others remained and received passports.

Today, parts of Bosnia framed by the cities of Zenica, Tuzla, Sarajevo, and Travnik are home to these immigrants and compose the core regions for Islamic militancy, Western intelligence officials say.