A Serbian police officer fatally shot a knife-wielding minor who attacked him outside the Israeli Embassy in Belgrade just after midnight Wednesday, authorities said.
Interior Minister Ivica Dacic identified the wounded officer only by his initials, D.S., and said he belonged to an elite Gendarmerie unit stationed at the embassy in an upscale district near the U.S. Embassy. The officer suffered a slight wound to his face and killed the assailant in self-defense, Dacic added.
The attacker, believed to be from the western Serbian town of Sabac, charged into the guard’s booth and threw one of his two knives at the officer, striking his left cheek, prosecutors said. D.S. Then drew his weapon and fired several shots, killing the minor on the spot, according to the Higher Public Prosecutor’s office in Belgrade.
Dacic said the assailant shouted “Allahu Akbar,” Arabic for “God is great,” during the attack.
Serbian authorities immediately classified the incident as a terrorist attack and raised the national terror threat to its highest level, Dacic announced. Police presence was stepped up at key locations across the country.
The minister disclosed that security agencies had previously monitored the teenager, whom he described as a supporter of the Islamic State group. “He kept the black flag in support of the Islamic State on his Instagram” account, Dacic said.
Israel’s foreign ministry confirmed the “attempted terrorist attack” in a statement issued later Wednesday. “The attacker was neutralized by local police,” the ministry wrote. “No embassy personnel were injured, and the mission was closed at the time of the incident, which occurred late at night.”
Police photographs from the scene showed the guard’s booth cordoned off with tape as fully equipped officers secured the area.
The embassy, protected by elite officers carrying automatic weapons, has been targeted before. In June 2024, a crossbow-wielding assailant wounded a Serbian police officer at the same post before being shot and killed.
Wednesday’s violence came amid political transitions in both countries. Serbia held early parliamentary elections last Sunday in which a youth-led movement defeated long-ruling former President Aleksandar Vucic after nearly two years of protests, though Vucic and his allies retain control of police while a new government takes shape. Israel concluded its own parliamentary vote Tuesday with exit polls showing no clear winner.
Serbia has maintained close relations with Israel throughout periods of regional tension.