Policeman Killed in Lawless Albanian Village

Ibrahim Basha, 31, was killed on Wednesday and two other officers were wounded after coming under fire inside a lawless village in southern Albania.

The two wounded officers were airlifted to the National Trauma Center in Tirana and doctors say their lives are not at risk.

The attack occurred around 9pm. on Wednesday after a special forces unit was sent to back up local police after gunfire was heard in the village, which is five kilometers from the town of Gjirokastra.

Basha was a veteran of Albania's army special forces, twice deployed with NATO forces in Afghanistan, and had joined the interior ministry special forces unit, RENEA, one year ago.

After visiting the wounded officers in the hospital, the Prime Minister, Edi Rama, called the attack "a barbaric act".

Today is day of mourning for the state police and for all Albanians who value the service of these officers, he said.

Lazarat is notorious in Albania - and beyond. Off-limits to local police for most of the past decade, last year the government cracked down on its armed marijuana farmers who had turned the village into a major drugs hub.

In June 2014, more than 1,000 police officers, including interior ministry special forces, laid siege to the village, exchanging fire with drug traffickers as they took control of the terrain.

Dozens of suspects were arrested in the operation, including a notorious local drug baron, while more than 130,000 cannabis plants were destroyed and 80 tons of marijuana seized.

The street value of the drugs produced in Lazarat has been estimated to be worth 4.5 billion annually, equivalent to nearly half of Albania's GDP.

Following Wednesday's attack, the police have launched a new operation...