Belgrade: Police Kill Suspected IS Supporter at Israeli Embassy

Serbian police shot dead a knife-wielding attacker who wounded a guard outside the Israeli Embassy in Belgrade overnight into Wednesday morning. Interior Minister Ivica Dacic announced that the assailant, whom he identified as a minor, was killed in self-defense after striking the officer with a knife.

Dacic stated that security agencies had been monitoring the attacker as a supporter of the Islamic State. The minister reported that the assailant originated from the western town of Sabac and maintained an Instagram account featuring the black flag associated with the group. During the confrontation, the attacker shouted "Allahu Akbar," according to Dacic.

Israel's Foreign Ministry confirmed the incident as an attempted terrorist attack. The ministry noted that no embassy personnel were injured and that an investigation was underway. Serbian police are currently treating the event as a terrorist act.

In response, authorities raised the national terrorism threat level to red alert. Dacic explained that this status mandates tighter security checks and a larger police presence at sensitive locations, including infrastructure facilities and venues with large crowds.

The assault occurred shortly after Serbia held its early parliamentary election and one day after Israel cast its parliamentary ballots, a vote that has not yet produced a clear winner. This marks the second major attack on the same embassy in under three years.

In June 2024, a 25-year-old man converted to Islam attacked a police officer at the Belgrade embassy with a crossbow. That officer was seriously wounded before police shot and killed the attacker, who had been identified as a local radical.