"Terrorist sent video message before attack": Minister Dacic discloses latest details about Milos Zujovic
"She (said) she saw Milos on a city bus (in Belgrade), singing in Russian, and that he told her that the bus was taking him to Jannah (Islamic expression for Paradise)," says Dacic
Serbian Interior Minister Ivica Dacic was on TV Pink this morning and said that when an act occurs, which is treated as terrorist, he has the obligation to issue a code red terrorism security threat alert.
Accordingly, regardless of whether the higher threat level is realistic, there are currently no indications that the situation is dangerous. Critical moments have passed, when there could have been more attacks, Dacic said.
"When it comes to organized groups, up until now it could still have been expected. Two facts should be distinguished here. One is the criminal act, and the other is a group that can be defined as Wahhabis. That is, religious extremism... This is not new, it has been monitored for years."
Speaking about the wounded policeman (member of the Serbian police Gendarmerie unit), Dacic said that he is an extremely strong guy, both mentally and physically. The doctors, added Dacic, are amazed.
"His training, equipment and everything he learned prepared him to be ready for this, and to handle it easily. The prosecution is now investigating whether there was anyone else in that group, or whether (the attacker) acted alone. There are (terror) cells all over Serbia, there are people who have converted to Islam in every town in Serbia. Yesterday a search was carried out in the vicinity of Nis, and the situation is the same there. One person has converted to Islam, the monitoring must be done there... (It's) Zivota Ilic, he took the name Ridval Mulal. It's their business, which religion they will belong to, while whether there are any dangerous goals behind it is another matter," said Dacic, then addressed Muslims (Bosniaks) in Serbia:
"Some criticize our actions. They say it's aimed against them... these are not Muslims, these are Serbs who engage in terrorism. It is a form of extremism, and many Islamic religious leaders were targeted by the Wahhabi movement, including (Islamic Community chief) Zukorlic," said Dacic.
Yesterday, the Montenegrin police interviewed the attacker's wife, Besa Zujovic, whose maiden name is Hadzovic. She was born in Berane, Montenegro. In her statement, she put an end to all the questions, such as, what and how... Her phone has been confiscated, and we will see if everything (she said) was true, said the minister.
"She said that she was in (the Montenegrin town) Plav with her son, and around 11:15 (on the day of the attack) received a video message, sent around 10:50. She saw that Milos was on a (Belgrade) city bus, that he was singing in Russian, and that he told her that that bus was taking him to Jannah (Paradise). Later, two more video messages arrived, mentioning Israelis killing Muslims. She called him, got upset, but he didn't answer... This puts an end to the question of the motive, and it is clear that this was a terrorist act," Minister Dacic said.
Previously, the father of 25-year-old Milos Zujovic - whose "religious name" was Salahudin and who was shot and killed during the attack in front of the Israeli embassy in Belgrade - said that his son had converted to Islam four and a half years ago, that he was recruited by people from Montenegro, who also got him married there.
(Telegraf.rs, TV Pink)