Tens of thousands without water in Kosovo after fears of Isis plot to poison reservoir

Kosovan ISIS members appeared in videos warning of an immediate attack on the country's drinking water supplies

Pristina, capital of Kosovo, has a population of about 200,000 (Getty)

Tens of thousands of people in Kosovo were without water after the authorities shut off supplies over fears that Isis had poisoned a reservoir.

Water authorities in the capital Pristina confirmed that the water was stopped early Saturday morning “because of security issues” and that five men have been arrested in connection to the suspected plot.

Water samples are being tested but Al Jazeera reported that initial tests did not show poison present.

This came after Kosovan ISIS members appeared in propaganda videos claiming that they would target water supplies in imminent future attacks, Reuters reported.

“If you can, take poison and put it in their meal or in their drink. Make them die, make them die of poisoning, kill them wherever you are...you can do it,” one man in a video tells viewers.

Badovc reservoir supplies the Kosovan capital with water (Creative Commons/Xhemail Shabani)

Kosovo police say that officers near the Badovc reservoir, which supplies around 100,000 of Pristina’s residents, saw three men behaving suspiciously near the water. A further two have been arrested elsewhere.

Last August, Kosovo arrested more than 40 people suspected of planning to travel to Syria to fight for ISIS. There are now between 100 and 200 Kosovans who have left the country to travel to the so-called “caliphate”.