Four Bosnian civilians also were injured, Mostar Radio said. In Rome, officials said 11 of the injured peacekeepers were Italian paramilitary police. The trouble started when armed, masked U.N. and Bosnian police backed by NATO troops seized the Mostar headquarters of the bank Hercegovacka Banka and 10 branches throughout Bosnia-Herzegovina. During the takeover, mobs swarmed the bank's headquarters, beat police and international officials, destroyed records and looted the building. Crowds attacked NATO vehicles, overturning several and setting one on fire.
Gunshots rang out in the streets.
International peace officials trapped by a mob in the Ero Hotel where their offices are were also rescued, whisked from the building in Spanish armored personnel carriers. Shots had earlier been fired in the area. It was not clear if any other officials remained trapped elsewhere. BBC reported that some peacekeepers and officials were taken hostage. NATO closed the main bridge across the Neretva River dividing the city into Muslim and Croat districts and called in reinforcements from throughout the country.