Kosovo's government has condemned the shooting of two US airmen at Frankfurt airport in Germany by a citizen of purportedly Kosovo origin as 'horrible' and 'monstrous'.
"This horrible case is an individual act against civilised values and against the traditions of the people of Kosovo," the government said in press release.
Expressing its condolences to the United States and its people, the government said Kosovo would be grateful "forever" to them "for strong support to the people of Kosovo" after it declared its independence from Serbia in 2008.
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"The government of Kosovo expresses a deep belief and conviction that the perpetrators of this monstrous act will go before justice and get the punishment deserved."
A lone gunman killed the two US airmen Wednesday and seriously injured two more in an attack on their bus at the airport, local authorities and the US military said.
Authorities in Germany said the alleged assailant was a 21-year-old originally from Muslim-majority Kosovo in southeastern Europe living in Frankfurt.
The US played a leading role in a NATO air campaign that ousted Serbian security forces from Kosovo in 1999, ending a war that claimed about 13,000 victims.
It was among the first to recognise Kosovo's declaration of independence, despite Serbia's fierce opposition.
In a separate statement, President Behgjet Pacolli also expressed his regret over the incident and sent his condolences to the US.
"The people of Kosovo condemn strongly this cowardly individual act... that was conducted against people in uniforms of the military that had the crucial role in the liberation of Kosovo."
