Guards prevent 'attack' on house of Kosovo PM

Police in Kosovo fired at a man trying to enter the house of Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaci late on Friday in what the government said was an attack on the home.

Thaci was not at home at the time of the incident, in which police say guards spotted a man on the balcony of the Pristina home and shot at him.

Thaci's wife and son were in the house at the time, but were unhurt.

"The attackers ran away in an unknown direction. We believe one of the suspects was injured," police said in a statement on Saturday.

The government said it had stepped up security for cabinet officials after what it called an "attack" on Thaci.

"This is a very serious event," deputy Prime Minister Hajredin Kuci told a news conference.

Thaci is an ethnic Albanian former commander of the Kosovo Liberation Army, which fought a guerrilla war against Serb forces in 1998-99.

NATO bombed in 1999 to halt the killing and ethnic cleansing of Albanian civilians and drove out Serb forces.

Thaci became prime minister in January, and Kosovo declared independence from Serbia the following month, after nine years as a ward of the United Nations.

Kosovo has been recognised by more than 40 states, including the United States and most members of the European Union.

But Serbian and Russian opposition to its independence has clouded its future, with confusion over how the U.N. mission will withdraw and the influence Belgrade will continue to wield over areas populated by the remaining 120,000 Serbs.

Kosovo's political elite has been accused of links to organised crime and of running competing security and intelligence structures.

Late president Ibrahim Rugova escaped two attacks on him after the war, including a bomb attack on his convoy in 2005.