A man accused of committing war crimes during the Bosnian conflict has been captured in Alabama, where he had quietly lived for decades as a family-oriented neighbor who sold eggs locally and to Walmart.
Hamdija Alukic, 70, was taken into custody by U.S. Marshals in Mobile, Alabama. He faces charges for the murder of two civilians during violent attacks in 1992, according to WALA-TV.
Court records describe one incident in which Alukic and other paramilitary members allegedly stopped a vehicle, shot the driver, and set the car on fire while the victim was still inside. In a separate attack, he is accused of leading an assault that involved firebombing two homes, resulting in fatalities. Investigators later recovered the charred remains of one victim’s father, according to the complaint.
Alukic settled in Wilmer, a small rural community in Mobile County, where neighbors had no knowledge of his alleged involvement in the war that claimed around 100,000 lives.
“They were always really nice,” one former neighbor said. “They had dogs and chickens and sold eggs to Walmart. I remember going over to their house when I was a kid. It’s shocking to hear this about him.”
Authorities are holding Alukic without bond at the Baldwin County Jail while preparations are made for his extradition to Bosnia.