Croatia declared a war on organised crime last night after one of the country’s most prominent newspaper publishers was killed by a car bomb in the capital, Zagreb.

Ivo Pukanic, 47, the publisher of the leading weekly Nacional, known for its investigations into corruption and organised crime, was killed after an explosive device was detonated beneath his new Lexus car outside the magazine’s offices. Niko Franic, 38, the marketing manager, was also killed in the blast.

“The criminal underworld has confronted the country with an unprecedented challenge,” said Stjepan Mesic, the Croatian President, summoning an emergency meeting of the National Security Council.

“This is the moment when our society must stand as one because the question we are facing is: us, the rule of law, or them, the criminals, the terrorists and the mafia,” he added.

The murder of Mr Pukanic is the latest in a string of attacks on journalists, businessmen and lawyers with links to organised crime clans. Earlier this month, Ivana Hodak, the daughter of a prominent lawyer was gunned down in front of her home. The Interior and Justice ministers were sacked immediately after her murder and the Government announced a crackdown on organised crime, a pledge that appears not to have had any immediate results.

The explosive device went off as the two men got into the car at 6.20pm, also injuring two other employees of the magazine who were at the parking lot at the time.

Mr Pukanic, a father of one, carried a gun for self-defence after he survived an attempt on his life earlier this year and was under police protection until two months ago.

A personal friend of President Mesic, Mr Pukanic is said to have had connections with the country’s secret services as well as the local mafia.

Hours after his death, the Prime Minister, Ivo Sanader, pledged to confront the criminal gangs believed to be behind the murders. “I will not allow for Croatia to become Beirut. All of us in Croatia will stand up against this,” he declared.

“This is the final showdown and the State will emerge as the victor. Our best people are working on this,” Mr Sanader added, announcing a package of emergency laws that will give authorities greater powers to tackle organised crime.

Mr Pukanic was the only journalist to have interviewed the fugitive Croatian general Ante Gotovina before he was arrested and delivered to the UN tribunal in The Hague, where he is on trial for war crimes he allegedly committed during the civil war of the 1990s.

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