Journalists attacked, bombed in Montenegro

An explosive device detonated outside the office of Mihailo Jovović, chief editor of Vijesti (News), in the capital, Podgorica, regional and international press reported. No one was injured in the attack, but the explosion shattered the newsroom windows and damaged the building.

Reuters reported that security cameras outside Vijesti‘s newsroom captured an image of a man in a black jacket planting a package outside the news outlet and leaving the scene moments before the bomb detonated. News reports said that authorities had opened the probe into the incident.

Vijesti‘s director, Zeljko Ivanovic, issued a statement that said the authorities were responsible for the attack. According to news reports, Vijesti often publishes critical reports on corruption in the government, and also reports on organized crime in Montenegro.

The newspaper has been targeted before. In August, an explosive device detonated outside the home of Vijesti‘s regional reporter Tufik Softic; neither the journalist nor his family was injured in the blast. Authorities opened the probe into the incident and pledged to solve it, but no progress was reported.