The Security Directorate, best known by the acronym KOS (which is derived from the organization's original name in the
Serbo-Croatian
Serbo-Croatian () – also called Serbo-Croat (), Serbo-Croat-Bosnian (SCB), Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian (BCS), and Bosnian-Croatian-Montenegrin-Serbian (BCMS) – is a South Slavic language and the primary language of Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and ...
: ''Kontraobaveštajna služba'' - "Counterintelligence Service"), was the security and
counterintelligence service of the
Yugoslav People's Army
The Yugoslav People's Army (abbreviated as JNA/; Macedonian and sr-Cyrl-Latn, Југословенска народна армија, Jugoslovenska narodna armija; Croatian and bs, Jugoslavenska narodna armija; sl, Jugoslovanska ljudska a ...
that existed from 1946 until the
breakup of Yugoslavia
The breakup of Yugoslavia occurred as a result of a series of political upheavals and conflicts during the early 1990s. After a period of political and economic crisis in the 1980s, constituent republics of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yu ...
in 1991. In 1992, the
Security Directorate continued its work in
Serbia and Montenegro
Serbia and Montenegro ( sr, Cрбија и Црна Гора, translit=Srbija i Crna Gora) was a country in Southeast Europe located in the Balkans that existed from 1992 to 2006, following the breakup of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yu ...
.
Founding and structure
Counterintelligence Service (KOS) was formed in 1946 as one of the remnants of the
Department for Protection of the People (OZNA), with
Directorate for State Security (UDBA) forming the second, civilian, component of the new security and intelligence structure of
SFR Yugoslavia
The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as SFR Yugoslavia or simply as Yugoslavia, was a country in Central and Southeast Europe. It emerged in 1945, following World War II, and lasted until 1992, with the breakup of Yug ...
. In 1955 changed its name to Security Directorate (''Uprava bezbednosti'') and relocated from the General Staff to State Secretariat of People's Defence, later
Federal Secretariat of Peoples Defence.
Activities
Most information is still scant due to its classification as
military secret, but some can be traced in the media, especially during the
Milošević tenure and the role played in the break-up of
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
(e.g.
Operation Labrador
Operation Labrador was a false flag operation carried out by the Yugoslav Air Force's Counterintelligence Service (KOS) in the Croatian capital city of Zagreb during the early stages of the Croatian War of Independence. It was devised as a serie ...
).
See also
*
Department for Protection of the People (OZNA)
*
Directorate for State Security (UDBA)
*
Yugoslav People's Army
The Yugoslav People's Army (abbreviated as JNA/; Macedonian and sr-Cyrl-Latn, Југословенска народна армија, Jugoslovenska narodna armija; Croatian and bs, Jugoslavenska narodna armija; sl, Jugoslovanska ljudska a ...
*
Security Directorate
References
External links
International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, 'questioning' transcripts on Operations "Labrador" and "Opera".
{{Authority control
1946 establishments in Yugoslavia
Government agencies established in 1946
1991 disestablishments in Yugoslavia
Government agencies disestablished in 1991
Yugoslav intelligence agencies
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
Military intelligence agencies
Military of SFR Yugoslavia