page_title: Lučko Anti-Terrorist Unit
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Lučko Anti-Terrorist Unit / History
caption_attribution_description: 16. obljetnica vojnoredarstvene operacije Oluja u Kninu This file was uploaded with Commonist.
context_page_description: Anti-Terrorist Unit Lučko is the police tactical unit of the Croatian Police stationed in Lučko near Zagreb, the capital of Croatia. Initially distinguishing itself in the Croatian War of Independence, it has gone on to become Croatia's leading police tactical unit. Like all other police units in the country, it is under command of the Ministry of the Interior. It is a member of the ATLAS Network, an association of European police tactical units. Several of its members have gone on to achieve notability, including Croatian mixed martial arts fighter Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipović.
context_section_description: The unit was established on 7 September 1990. It initially comprised 225 volunteers, many of whom had been enrolled in the First Croatian Police Officer course (Croatian: Prvi hrvatski redarstvenik), which was formed in order to create a police force loyal to the new Croatian government during the political tensions leading to Croatia's proclamation of independence from Yugoslavia, and the subsequent escalation of the Croatian War of Independence. It was the first Croatian fighting unit taking part in the war. It was also the only fighting unit of Croatian Special Police Forces at that time, and the first unit of the future Croatian Special Police. Its first missions were to restore public order in areas where Serbs participating in the Log Revolution were trying to wrest control from the authorities; to take control of the barracks and confiscate weapons of the Yugoslav People's Army, whose authority in Croatia was rescinded by the country's government after it sided with the Log Revolution; and to train units which would later be organised into the Croatian Armed Forces. The unit saw its first military skirmish on 1 March 1991, the Pakrac clash. It took part in many battles during the war, including the Plitvice Lakes incident, battles of Glina, Topusko, Petrinja, Nuštar, the Siege of Dubrovnik, and Operations Maslenica, Medak Pocket, Flash and Storm. Members of Lučko ATU chain of command, including General Mladen Markač were tried by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) for alleged war crimes committed during Operation Storm. They were acquitted of all charges on appeal.
  After the Croatian War of Independence, the unit specialised in special police assignments. During the course of the war, 14, 19, or 24 Lučko ATU police officers were killed and 52 wounded in the unit of 350 members. Subsequently, none of the members have been killed on duty, although several have perished at training in diving accidents.
caption: Members of Lučko ATU during the 16th anniversary of Operation Storm
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