U.N. Monitor Escapes Injuries in Blast

An explosion damaged the house of a U.N. police monitor in what appeared to be another incident of harassment targeting international officials. The explosion, in the northwest town of Bosanska Gradiska, caused only minor damage and no injuries. Tensions between Bosnian Serbs and foreigners have increased in the past week after British peacekeeping troops killed one indicted war crimes suspect and arrested another. Anger grew with the U.N. tribunal’s sentencing Monday of a Serb to 20 years in prison for war crimes. This week, homes, offices or vehicles used by international organizations in three Serb-held towns have been the targets of explosions. An American soldier was slightly hurt when he was stabbed with a sickle in Serb-held Vlasenica. Meanwhile, posters showing wartime Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic--a war crimes suspect--have been plastered across Serb territory. “Don’t touch him,” warned some. Others said “He means peace” or “He is freedom.”