They have friends in high places and a stranglehold over the private security industry.

Bratislav Zivkovic has made no secret of his ties to Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine, but prosecutors in Serbia dropped an investigation against him.

Serbs carried out combat and counter-intelligence missions for several pro-Russia paramilitary units including the notorious Wagner group of mercenaries, BIRN has learned.

Terrorism trials involving Balkan Islamists show that many of these individuals were either indoctrinated by – or had close links to – radicalised communities in Germany, Austria and Italy.

Balkan youth have been an easy target for extremists seeking to radicalise them and convince them to fight abroad, but now parents, activists and official Islamic organisations are striking back.

Some jihadis from the Balkans who travelled to the Syrian conflict zone to support Islamic State told BIRN that they returned home because they became disenchanted with the brutality, poverty...

Excluded from the mainstream media, whose content is more heavily policed, the purveyors of extreme ideologies are spreading their messages of fear and hatred on social networks.