A blast on a canal vital to Kosovo's water and power supplies has sparked a war of words with Serbia, with fears it could further escalate tensions between the two Balkan nations.The explosion late Friday punched a hole in a canal providing water to hundreds of thousands of people and the cooling systems at two coal-fired power plants that generate most of Kosovo's electricity.

By Valentina Dimitrievska in Skopje Eight people have been arrested in connection with what Kosovo police have classified as a terrorist attack on a water channel in northern Kosovo at the end of last week.

Kosovo police have detained eight people suspected of being part of the attack, according to Interior Minister Xhelal Svecla. A big cache of weaponry, ammunition, military and police uniforms, cash and other items were confiscated at 10 locations in the north.