Serbian Police Kill Knife Attacker Outside Israeli Embassy in Belgrade: What We Know

A man armed with two knives attacked a police guard outside the Israeli Embassy in Belgrade overnight and was shot dead by the officer, Serbian authorities said on Wednesday. Serbia has since raised its terror threat level to the highest setting and increased the police presence at key locations.

Here is what is known so far, based on reports from ABC News, The Independent and DW.

What happened outside the embassy?

According to ABC News, police said an unidentified assailant attacked a guard with knives outside the embassy and was killed just after midnight Wednesday. Interior Minister Ivica Dacic said the attacker rushed at an officer of the Gendarmerie while shouting “Allahu Akbar” and used two knives, The Independent reported.

Dacic said the officer acted in self-defense when he shot the attacker. The officer was lightly wounded, with a light head wound, according to The Independent. DW reported that Israel’s Foreign Ministry later confirmed an attempted terrorist attack near the embassy, said no embassy personnel were injured and said the incident was being investigated.

Who was the attacker?

His identity has not been formally confirmed. Dacic described the attacker as a minor of so far undetermined identity who is reasonably suspected to be from Sabac, a town in western Serbia, The Independent and DW reported.

The minister also said Serbian security agencies had been monitoring the young man as a supporter of the Islamic State group. According to Dacic, the attacker kept a black flag in support of the group on his Instagram account.

How have authorities responded?

Dacic said police are treating the incident as a terrorist attack. He said he raised the threat level to red, the highest on Serbia’s scale, according to The Independent.

DW quoted Dacic as saying the red alert means tighter security checks and a bigger police presence at sensitive sites, including infrastructure facilities and places where large crowds gather. Dacic said police would step up their presence at key locations.

Has this happened before?

Yes. In June 2024, an attacker with a crossbow wounded a Serbian police officer guarding the same embassy in Belgrade, and the attacker was shot and killed by police, according to ABC News and DW. DW reported that the officer was seriously wounded. It added that the 2024 attacker was identified as a 25-year-old Islamic convert from a village near the capital who had become radicalized.

The Independent described Wednesday’s incident as the second such attack at the Israeli embassy in Belgrade in two years.

What is the political backdrop?

The attack came just days after Serbia held an early parliamentary election on Sunday. ABC News reported that a youth-led movement defeated former President Aleksandar Vucic after almost two years of protests. The Independent said the outgoing administration remains in place in a caretaker role until a new government is formed. ABC News added that Vucic and his allies still control the police during that period.

The incident also came a day after Israelis voted in a parliamentary election, according to DW, with no clear result yet.

Why does it matter?

For people in Belgrade, the most visible effect is likely to be more police and tighter security checks at infrastructure sites and places where large crowds gather, the measures Dacic described. The red alert is the top level of Serbia’s terror threat scale.

The attack is also the second assault on the Israeli diplomatic mission in the Serbian capital in about two years, and it falls during a period when Serbia’s government is in transition. Officials have not said whether the attacker acted alone or whether others were involved, and Israel’s Foreign Ministry said the incident is under investigation.

What happens next?

Investigators are working to establish the attacker’s identity and the circumstances of the attack. Dacic said police presence at key locations would increase while the threat level stays at red. Serbia’s new government has yet to be formed, and the caretaker administration remains in charge until it is.

Around Prague, based on reporting by ABC News, The Independent, DW