An assailant armed with two knives attacked a member of Serbia’s Gendarmerie guarding the Israeli Embassy in Belgrade shortly after midnight Wednesday, prompting the officer to fatally shoot the attacker in self-defense, according to Serbian authorities.
The assailant, who was a minor, allegedly shouted “Allahu Akbar” — or “God is great” in Arabic — as he slashed the officer in the face, leaving the officer “slightly injured.”
Interior Minister Ivica Dacic said authorities are treating the incident as a terrorist attack, adding that security forces had been monitoring the assailant.
Dacic said the attacker supported ISIS and displayed a black flag bearing the terrorist group’s symbol on his Instagram account. The attacker was believed to be Serbian and from the town of Sabac, Dacic added.
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Israel’s foreign ministry confirmed the “attempted terrorist attack,” and said the incident was under investigation by the relevant authorities.
“The attacker was neutralized by local police. No embassy personnel were injured, and the mission was closed at the time of the incident, which occurred late at night,” the statement said.
According to Serbian prosecutors, an unidentified person wearing black clothes opened the door to the security booth outside the embassy around 12:15 a.m. local time.
Prosecutors said the attacker then walked toward the officer inside, identified as D.S., and threw one of his knives in his direction, hitting the officer in the left cheek.
D.S. then retrieved his service weapon and fired multiple rounds, killing the attacker on the spot, according to the office of the Higher Public Prosecutor in Belgrade.
Photos from the scene hours after the attack show heavily armed police officers standing at the entrance of the embassy.
Dacic said Serbia had raised its terrorism threat level to the highest level, prompting an increased police presence at sensitive sites and crowded public spaces across the country.
In June 2024, a crossbow-wielding assailant wounded a Serbian police officer guarding the Israeli Embassy in Belgrade before the officer returned fire, killing the attacker.
The latest attack comes a day after Israel held parliamentary elections, with exit polls pointing to no clear winner.
