Bosnia: Gunman kills two soldiers and blows himself up in Sarajevo 'terror' attack

A gunman shot two soldiers dead before blowing himself up in the Bosnian capital of Sarajevo in a suspected Islamist attack. Bosnia's Prime Minister Denis Zvizdic has ordered security to be raised to the highest level across the country, after an emergency government meeting. He described the incident "an attack on the state".

Armed with an automatic rifle, the suicide bomber named as Enes Omeragic went on a shooting spree in the Sarajevo suburb of Rajlovac on the evening of 18 November.

He first killed two soldiers at a betting shop metres away from a Bosnian army barrack and then opened fire on a public bus, injuring a third member of the armed forces as well as the bus driver and two passengers were hit by broken glass.

Omeragic fled the scene and hid inside his nearby house. As police surrounded the building and prepared to storm it, he detonated an explosive device and killed himself.

The prosecutor's office said the incident was being investigated as an act of terrorism. Eyewitnesses said Omeragic wore a headband carrying Arabic writing during the attack and neighbours told Reuters he had recently joined the ultra-conservative Salafi Muslim movement.

Around 45% of Bosnia's population are Muslims, with Christians making up an almost identical share of the citizenry. Local authorities said at least 94 Bosnians are known to have travelled to Syria to join jihadi groups in recent years.

The incident came less than a week after 129 people were killed in a series of co-ordinated attacks in Paris, France, with the Islamic State (Isis) group claiming responsibility for the atrocities.