A blast on a canal vital to Kosovo's water and power supplies has sparked a war of words with Serbia, with fears it could further escalate tensions between the two Balkan nations.The explosion late Friday punched a hole in a canal providing water to hundreds of thousands of people and the cooling systems at two coal-fired power plants that generate most of Kosovo's electricity.

By Valentina Dimitrievska in Skopje Eight people have been arrested in connection with what Kosovo police have classified as a terrorist attack on a water channel in northern Kosovo at the end of last week.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic on Sunday denied that Belgrade had masterminded a strike on Kosovar infrastructure, saying Kosovo itself had mounted a "hybrid attack" against his country.