Serbia court jails Islamic extremists

BELGRADE, Serbia, July 3 (UPI) -- A Serbian court Friday sentenced 12 Islamic extremists, known as Wahhabis, to prison terms of between six months and 13 years after their terrorism convictions.

The Belgrade District Court sentenced the leader of the group to 13 years in prison, two were given eight years each, one received 7-1/2 years, two received seven years each, and the other six men received terms ranging from six months to three years, Belgrade's B92 Web site said.

The indictment said the Wahhabis group was plotting terrorist activities against the state of Serbia in the 2006-07 period, including the killing of Muamer Zukorlic, a Muslim religious leader in the town of Novi Pazar, in southern Serbia.

Novi Pazar is the chief town of the predominantly Muslim Sandzak region, which borders Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro and Kosovo.

Serbian police began arresting the group members in March 2006 and they went on trial in Belgrade in January 2008.

According to Wikipedia Wahhabism is a conservative form of Sunni Islam that is popular in Saudi Arabia, where it was founded in the 18th century.