Car bomb kills 2 journalists in Zagreb

"A car bomb in the Croatian capital Zagreb has killed two journalists, including Ivo Pukanic, the owner of a leading weekly newspaper, reports say.

Mr Pukanic, 47, was killed with Nacional weekly newspaper's marketing executive, Niko Franic, in the blast outside the newspaper's premises.

There is no indication who was behind the attack, which occurred in central Zagreb at about 1820 (1620 GMT).

The city has been gripped by a wave of violence this year.

President Stipe Mesic said the bomb, which was reportedly planted underneath Mr Pukanic's Lexus, meant 'terrorism has become a fact on the streets of our capital'.

'The state is faced with an unprecedented challenge from the criminal circles,' he said. 'Now it is them or us... rule of law and safety of citizens against criminals, terrorists and mafia.'

Nacional is an investigative paper that often exposes corruption and human rights abuses. Mr Pukanic, who was also the paper's editor-in-chief, had spoken out about a plot to assassinate him earlier this year."
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