At least 22 die as Macedonia police battle ‘terrorist’ group

From the BBC

Macedonia says five Kosovans led the armed group which was involved in deadly clashes with security forces in the northern town of Kumanovo. Eight officers and 14 gunmen were killed in the fighting, Interior ministry spokesman Ivo Kotevski said.

Those named were members of the now dismantled Kosovo Liberation Army. 

Sami Ukshini, Beg Rizaj, Dem Shehu, Muhamet Krasniqi and Mirsad Ndrecaj were the leaders of the armed group that clashed with police in a suburb of Kumanovo, some 40km (25 miles) north of the capital, Skopje on Saturday, the interior ministry spokesman said.

Only one of the 14 uniformed bodies had been identified – that of another Kosovo national, named Xhafer Zymberi, said the spokesman.

“More than 30 terrorists, mainly Macedonian nationals and one from Albania, surrendered yesterday [Saturday] to the police forces,” Mr Kotevski added. 

The Financial Times reports that  Gordana Jankulovska, the country’s interior minister,said ““The police fought together against an exceptionally dangerous terrorist organisation that was a major threat to our state, and especially to the peace and security of the citizens,” Macedonia’s prime minister, Nikola Gruevski,  said today that members of the group were highly trained guerrilla fighters with recent combat experience in the Middle East. 

Middle east and Muslim sounding names – that sounds like jihad to me.