Knife-Wielding Minor Shot Dead After Attacking Guard at Israel's Embassy in Serbia

BELGRADE, Serbia —

A minor armed with two knives attacked a police officer guarding Israel's embassy in Belgrade just after midnight Wednesday, Oct. 28, and was shot dead by the officer, Serbian officials said, according to the Associated Press.

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Interior Minister Ivica Dacic called it a “terrorist attack.” He said the attacker shouted “Allahu Akbar” (Arabic for “God is great”), was believed to come from the western Serbian town of Sabac, and supported the Islamic State group, keeping its black flag on his Instagram account. Dacic said Serbian security agencies had been monitoring him, and that the officer fired in self-defense. He did not give the attacker's age.

The Office of the Higher Public Prosecutor in Belgrade said the attacker, dressed in black, opened the door of the guard booth and charged at the officer, a member of the elite Gendarmerie unit identified only as D.S. A thrown knife struck the officer's left cheek, leaving him slightly wounded.

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Israel's Foreign Ministry confirmed an “attempted terrorist attack” under investigation by Serbian authorities. “The attacker was neutralized by local police,” the ministry said, adding that no embassy personnel were hurt and the mission was closed at the time.

Dacic said police raised the terror threat to the highest level and added officers at key locations around the capital.

It is not the first attack at the embassy, which sits near the U.S. Embassy and is guarded by officers carrying automatic weapons. In June 2024, a man with a crossbow wounded a Serbian police officer guarding it before being shot dead. The latest attack came a day after Israelis voted in national elections and days after Serbia's own parliamentary vote. Serbia has kept close relations with Israel, the AP noted.