SAA event in Serbia on Mon 19th August 2024

Serbian Interior Minister Ivica Dacic announced that the Serbian police shot and killed Senad Ramovic-Becan, a convicted terrorist, near  Novi Pazar in the southwestern part of the country last night. Dacic revealed that during an attempt to arrest Ramovic, he resisted, opened fire on the police, and was subsequently eliminated by the Special Anti-Terrorist Unit.

Ramovic had been previously sentenced to 13.5 years in prison for terrorism. He was originally arrested in 2007 following an armed attack on police officers in the village of Tarnava, near Novi Pazar. At that time, 14 of his associates were also apprehended, accused of plotting the assassination of the then-mufti Muamer Zukorlic, as well as preparing terrorist attacks in both Belgrade and Novi Pazar.

The operation to neutralize Ramovic was a collaborative effort involving the Serbian Special Anti-Terrorist Unit, the Serbian intelligence agency BIA, the Ministry of the Interior, and the Supreme Prosecutor's Office in Novi Pazar. Dacic noted that the action took place in the village of Hotkovo, near Novi Pazar, where Ramovic was from, though he was not found at his home. He was eventually located in a house a few hundred meters away, owned by his brother-in-law Aldin Birčović, who is currently serving a sentence in Niš.

Ramovic had ties to the jihadist Miloš Žujović, who, on June 29, wounded police officer Miloš Jevremović with a crossbow in front of the Israeli embassy in Belgrade. Dacic mentioned that this incident was part of ongoing efforts to monitor the Wahhabi movement and address the potential threats posed by such extremist groups.