EU police raid home of former Kosovo guerrilla commander

(PRISTINA) - EU police on Wednesday raided the home of an ethnic Albanian former guerrilla commander as part of a probe into alleged political assassinations following the Kosovo conflict, a statement said.

EU police "have been carrying out a search in the residence of a former KLA commander," the EU rule of law mission (EULEX) said in a statement.

"A EULEX special prosecutor is present at the scene in order to ensure the effective gathering of evidential material," it added.

The statement did not reveal the identity of the target but it added that the case related to the ongoing EULEX investigation into claims that officials from Prime Minister Hashim Thaci's party ordered political rivals' assassinations after the 1998-99 conflict.

Local media reported that the house raided was owned by Azem Syla, the former chief commander and co-founder of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), which fought the forces loyal to then Serbian strongman Slobodan Milosevic.

They said that after around a three-hour search, carried out in Syla's native village 15 kilometers (nine miles) southwest from the capital, the police took with them some documents and a personal computer.

EULEX said later in another statement that the police left behind a summons for the suspect who happened not to been at home "to appear before the special prosecutor."

So far two people have been arrested in relation to the assassination probe on suspicion of having been members of an execution squad from the end of the war in mid-1999 to 2003.

KLA's veterans said EULEX's investigation against their former commander was "unjust" and declared the EU mission unnecessary.

Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in February 2008 and in December of that year the 3,000-member strong EULEX mission was launched to enforce the rule of law in Kosovo.

It has the power to step in and take on cases that the local judiciary and police are unable to handle because of their sensitive nature.