US embassy, Bosnia journalists outraged over beaten reporter

SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina (AP) " The U.S. Embassy and Bosnian journalists have expressed outrage after unknown assailants attacked and seriously hurt a reporter of an independent Bosnian Serb television station.

BNTV reporter Vladimir Kovacevic has been hospitalized following the attack by two assailants late Sunday outside his home in Banja Luka, the main town in the Serb-run part of Bosnia.

Kovacevic posted a photo on Twitter showing his bloodied and bandaged head. He has said that the men attacked him with metal bars as he was coming home after reporting from an anti-government rally.

BNTV has faced criticism from the Bosnian Serb authorities for its independent editorial policies.

The U.S. Embassy tweeted Monday that the attacks on journalists are "unacceptable." The Bosnian journalists' association says the attack is aimed at intimidating independent media.