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PTJ (Counter-terrorist Unit)
Encyclopedia
The PTJ is the special operations police unit of Serbia
.
As its name states, the PTJ is oriented towards anti-terror operations as well as securing and maintaining the internal security of Serbia
. Often only used in operations deemed too dangerous for other police units, it is highly trained and equipped. The PTJ's responsibilities include: resolving hostage situations, anti-terrorist operations, high profile arrests and bomb disposal
. Members of the PTJ operate with extreme professionalism and devotion to their responsibilities. This has earned the PTJ great respect throughout the world as an elite special operations police unit among other such units.
Candidates are selected from the Žandarmerija, who must undergo rigorous physical evaluations before tactical training can begin. Lieutenant Colonel Dragović, the commander, stated in 2007 that out of 150 candidates only eight were selected in that year. Members of the PTJ are expected to meet and excel the criteria set before them. Traniees are exposed to varying conditions that they might find in real life operations. PTJ training centres are located at Petrovo Selo near Kula and Goč near Vrnjačka Banja
.
Weapons used include:
, the PTJ arrested numerous members of the so-called "Customs Mafia". They detained known organized crime leaders such as Sreten Jocić
from the Netherlands
; Dejan Milenković from Greece
; Ridvan Rašitija from Switzerland
; and extradited Abdelmajid Bouchar, (a member of "Al-Qaeda
" suspected in connection with the 2004 Madrid train bombings), to Spain.
Others:
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
.
As its name states, the PTJ is oriented towards anti-terror operations as well as securing and maintaining the internal security of Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
. Often only used in operations deemed too dangerous for other police units, it is highly trained and equipped. The PTJ's responsibilities include: resolving hostage situations, anti-terrorist operations, high profile arrests and bomb disposal
Bomb disposal
Bomb disposal is the process by which hazardous explosive devices are rendered safe. Bomb disposal is an all encompassing term to describe the separate, but interrelated functions in the following fields:*Military:...
. Members of the PTJ operate with extreme professionalism and devotion to their responsibilities. This has earned the PTJ great respect throughout the world as an elite special operations police unit among other such units.
Equipment and training
Vrnjacka Banja
Vrnjačka Banja is a town, municipality, and a resort, mineral spa located in Raška District of Serbia. It contains the world's only hot spring with a temperature measuring exactly that of the human body ....
.
Weapons used include:
- CZ 99
- Glock 17Glock pistolThe Glock pistol, sometimes referred to by the manufacturer as Glock "Safe Action" Pistol, is a series of semi-automatic pistols designed and produced by Glock Ges.m.b.H., located in Deutsch-Wagram, Austria. The company's founder, engineer Gaston Glock, had no experience with firearm design or...
- Zastava M70Zastava M70The Zastava M70 is a 7.62mm assault rifle developed in Yugoslavia by Zastava Arms. The M70 was designed on the basis of the AKM and became the standard issue assault rifle in the Yugoslav People's Army in 1970. The M70 is air-cooled, magazine-fed, selective fire rifle...
- M4 carbineM4 carbineThe M4 carbine is a family of firearms tracing its lineage back to earlier carbine versions of the M16, all based on the original AR-15 designed by Eugene Stoner and made by ArmaLite. It is a shorter and lighter variant of the M16A2 assault rifle, with 80% parts commonality.It is a gas-operated,...
- Heckler & Koch MP5Heckler & Koch MP5The Heckler & Koch MP5 is a 9mm submachine gun of German design, developed in the 1960s by a team of engineers from the German small arms manufacturer Heckler & Koch GmbH of Oberndorf am Neckar....
- Heckler & Koch UMPHeckler & Koch UMPThe UMP is a submachine gun developed and manufactured by Heckler & Koch. The UMP has been adopted by various agencies such as the U.S. Customs and Border Protection...
Publicly known operations
In 13 operations across eight cities in SerbiaSerbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
, the PTJ arrested numerous members of the so-called "Customs Mafia". They detained known organized crime leaders such as Sreten Jocić
Sreten Jocić
Joca Amsterdam is Serbian gangster originating from Belgrade suburb of Surčin who operated in Holland...
from the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
; Dejan Milenković from Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
; Ridvan Rašitija from Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
; and extradited Abdelmajid Bouchar, (a member of "Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda is a global broad-based militant Islamist terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden sometime between August 1988 and late 1989. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad...
" suspected in connection with the 2004 Madrid train bombings), to Spain.
Others:
- 2007 - Arrested a large group of terrorists in an Islamic religious movement called the wahhabi on Mount Ninaj, killing one.
- 2009 - Hostage rescue in JagodinaJagodinaJagodina is a city and municipality located in central Serbia, 136 km south of Belgrade, on the banks of Belica River. Its name stems from the word for strawberry in Serbian. It is the administrative centre of the Pomoravlje District of Serbia...
(in central Serbia).