World War II: Air bomb found, destroyed in Sarajevo

A World War II air bomb, weighing some 226 kilograms, was successfully destroyed on Saturday in an uninhabited area in Petkovac, located 325 kilometers northwest of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s (BiH’s) capital Sarajevo, local media reported.

The bomb, containing 100 kilograms of explosive, was found the same day in Sana River two meters under the ground, and removed by members of the demining sector, in cooperation with members of the Czech Ministry of Interior.

Assistant to the director of Civil Protection Administration of Republika Srpska, one of the entities in BiH, Dragan Kos said for Nezavisne Newspapers that the bomb was transported 1,700 meters upstream by the Czech police, then loaded into a vehicle and neutralized in Petkovac.

He added that the investigation, location, removal and neutralization of bomb have lasted since Aug. 12.

A total of seven air bombs were removed from the Sana River bed this week, and three German-produced air bombs “SD 70” were removed in 2016 and one English air bomb in 2018.