A Serbian police chief who served under former President Slobodan Milosevic and then sided with the reformers who ousted him was shot dead in Belgrade early this morning, police said.
It was not immediately clear who was behind the gangland-style killing of 42-year-old Bosko Buha, a deputy head of Serbia's public security who carried the rank of general.
Serbian Justice Minister Vladan Batic made clear he believed it was linked to organised crime, which flourished during Milosevic's turbulent rule.
The final year of the Milosevic-era was marked by a spate of assassinations of prominent state officials and underworld figures, most of them still unresolved. But the killing of Buha was the most high-profile hit since Milosevic was ousted in October 2000.
He was shot several times at close range by an unidentified attacker while getting into his vehicle, a police statement said. He was rushed to hospital but died later.