Belgrade - Serbia's intelligence service protected war crimes suspect Radovan Karadzic, whose capture after 12 years on the run was welcomed across Europe, local media reported Wednesday.

"The secret service protected him, the secret service has now handed him over," Interior Minister Ivica Dacic was quoted as saying by Belgrade dailies.

The reports said the police were not involved in Karadzic, who was picked up on a bus in the Serbian capital on Monday evening and is now awaiting extradition to the UN war crimes tribunal in The Hague.

Dacic, head of the Socialist SPS party, had opposed arresting Serbia's most wanted man and would only agree to taking action if he volunteered to give himself up, the reports said.

The former Bosnian Serb leader, indicted on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity, had been working as a doctor under an assumed name after going into hiding in July 1996.

He grew long, white hair and a beard, which enabled him to travel around the country undetected and attend medical congresses and seminars.

Serb nationalists protesting his arrest trashed businesses and clashed with police Tuesday evening in downtown Belgrade. Three young men were arrested, but no injuries were reported.

The protesters, who sang patriotic songs and wore shirts with Karadzic's face, began dispersing after a speech by the secretary- general of the ultranationalist Radical Party, Aleksandar Vucic.

Vucic said the Radicals would organize large protests in the next few days.

The Radicals were the only one Serb party not to welcome Karadzic's arrest, which they compared to killing Serbia. Serbian authorities and European Union governments welcomed the arrest as a step toward Serbia joining the EU. (dpa)