Counterintelligence Service (Yugoslavia)
counterintelligence of Yugoslav People Army
The Security Directorate, best known by the acronym KOS (which is derived from the organization's original name in the Serbo-Croatian: Kontraobaveštajna služba - "Counterintelligence Service"), was the national military intelligence and security service of the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) that existed from 1946 until the breakup of Yugoslavia in 1991. In 1992, the Security Directorate continued its work in Serbia and Montenegro.
Founding and structure
The 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 component of the new security and intelligence structure of SFR Yugoslavia. In 1955, it 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 (e.g. Operation Labrador).
See also
Department for Protection of the People (OZNA)
Directorate for State Security (UDBA)
Yugoslav People's Army
Security Directorate
References
External links
International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, 'questioning' transcripts on Operations "Labrador" and "Opera".
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Counterintelligence Service (Yugoslavia)” is counterintelligence of Yugoslav People Army. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Counterintelligence, Service and Yugoslavia, not as a finished interpretation.
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Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jan 26, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q580798. VIAF identifies the subject as 142128074. The Library of Congress control number is n2009043144. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1946, 1991, 1992 and 1955.
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