BELGRADE - Serbian security forces deployed heavily armed units and blocked roads in the north of the country, near the border with Hungary, on Sunday after discovering "explosives of devastating power" planted near a critical gas pipeline connecting Serbia and Hungary.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic announced the discovery on social media, stating that military and police investigators had found both the explosives and the fuses, and that he had notified Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

Serbian state news agency Tanjug reported that 140 members of the military and police are currently engaged in a massive, ongoing search operation in the northern municipality of Kanjiza, near the Hungarian border.

Security forces have established blockades on multiple rural routes, severing roads between three local villages as part of a search for illicit materials deemed dangerous to citizens' lives and vital infrastructure. The extensive sweep is being carried out through a combination of ground operations and aerial coordination, with helicopters actively patrolling the airspace above the area.

Speaking later on Sunday during a visit to the EXPO construction site, Vucic provided further details on the thwarted attack, confirming that forces had discovered "two backpacks and two large packages of explosives with fuses." He stressed that the Serbian Armed Forces had successfully prevented an attack against the country's vital interests.

He added that investigators had uncovered "certain other traces" at the scene, noting that further details will be handled by the military's counterintelligence agency.