“This is the single most serious attack on the country’s critical infrastructure since the end of the conflict in the country,” Kosovo’s Interior Minister Xhelal Sveçla told reporters Saturday evening.
According to the police, around 20 kilograms of explosives in a black bag were placed on a section of the aqueduct in Zubin Potok and ignited by means of a wired detonator.
“This is not a random attack; it was well-organized and planned by a professional group … aiming to maximize the damage done to Kosovo and its citizens,” Sveçla said.
Eight people were arrested on suspicion of planning and organizing the attack.
Kosovo remains the most volatile area of the Balkans, with tensions constantly running high between the country, which declared independence in 2008, and its northern neighbor, Serbia.
In September of last year, in the same part of the country where Friday’s explosion took place, armed clashes erupted between local gunmen and the Kosovo police, with one police officer and three attackers being killed.