A knife-wielding attacker outside the Israeli embassy in Belgrade, the capital of Serbia, attacked a police guard and was killed by the guard after injuring him. Ivica Dačić, the Minister of Internal Affairs of Serbia, announced that this attacker, identified as a minor, had been under the surveillance of security agencies for supporting the terrorist group "Islamic State" (IS).
Details of the Attack
The Minister of Internal Affairs of Serbia stated that the attacker shouted "Allahu Akbar" during the assault on the guard. Dačić explained that the guard killed the attacker in self-defense. This incident is considered a terrorist attack, and the terrorist threat level in Serbia has been raised to the highest level, "red alert."
Consequences and Security Measures
Dačić added that this situation means increased security inspections and a heightened police presence in sensitive locations, including infrastructure facilities and places where large crowds gather. This attack occurred just a few days after early parliamentary elections in Serbia and one day after parliamentary elections in Israel.
This is not the first time the Israeli embassy in Belgrade has been targeted; in June 2024, an attacker with a bow seriously injured a police officer assigned to guard the embassy and was subsequently killed by the police. That attacker was a 25-year-old Muslim from a village near Belgrade who had turned to extremism.
The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs also confirmed the occurrence of an "unsuccessful terrorist attack" near its embassy in Belgrade, noting that none of the staff were harmed and that the incident is under investigation.
