S-For said Karadzic's wife (l) was co-operative

Troops from the Nato-led stabilisation force S-For have been searching the eastern town of Pale since Saturday.

There were reports that a war crimes suspect was there seeking medical help.

Mr Karadzic and his military commander Ratko Mladic are wanted by the war crimes tribunal in The Hague for genocide and crimes against humanity.

Both men have been fugitives since peacekeepers arrived in Bosnia in 1996 to oversee the Dayton peace accords.

I am outraged with S-For because they are molesting my family and children Sonja Karadzic Suspect's daughter

S-For spokesman Dave Sullivan told Reuters news agency that a man thought to be helping war crimes suspects had been detained during the raid.

Local media named the man as Bato Tesic, an alleged former member of a wartime special police unit tasked with looking after officials of the Bosnian Serb Republic.

S-For troops searched medical facilities and other buildings and set up roadblocks.

'Practically imprisoned'

Mr Karadzic's wife Ljiljana was present during the search.

Karadzic has been on the run since 1996

Another S-For spokesman, Matthew Brock, said she had been "co-operative" and accompanied the troops in the house.

But the couple's daughter Sonja phoned journalists to say they had been "practically imprisoned" since Saturday.

"I am outraged with S-For because they are molesting my family and children," she said.

Lieutenant Brock responded that the US commander of the search had been "polite" and "friendly".

He added that the search would end at 1630 (1530 GMT) but the checkpoints would remain in the town until noon on Monday.

S-For has made several unsuccessful attempts to catch Mr Karadzic in recent years.

International officials in Bosnia stepped up efforts to find Mr Karadzic and Mr Mladic in 2003, introducing sanctions against individuals and companies suspected of assisting them.