Israel arrests Srebrenica massacre suspect

Occupied Jerusalem: Israeli police arrested a former Bosnian Serb soldier suspected by Bosnian authorities of involvement in the killing of 8,000 Muslim men in 1995.

The Israeli Justice Ministry said Aleksander Cvetkovic was arrested yesterday morning following an extradition request from the Bosnian government. He is expected to appear at a hearing today.

The Bosnian Prosecutor's office said Cvetkovic "was suspected of genocide" because of direct participation in the 1995 execution of Bosnian Muslim men and boys at the Branjevo farm, near Srebrenica. Four other former members of Cvetkovic's battalion are being tried by Bosnia's war crimes court on genocide charges related to the incident.

"We would like to express our gratitude to the Israeli judiciary and police for their assistance and cooperation, and we expect the suspect to be extradited to Bosnia-Herzegovina soon," said Boris Grubesic, the spokesman for the Bosnian prosecutor.