Knife attack outside Israeli embassy in Belgrade, teenage assailant shot dead by police

A teenager armed with knives attacked a police officer guarding the Israeli Embassy in Belgrade, the Serbian capital. In the attack, which took place shortly after midnight on Wednesday, the officer was wounded in the face and fired in self-defence, killing the assailant on the spot.

Serbian authorities said the attacker was carrying two knives. He shouted “Allahu Akbar” as he slashed the Gendarmerie officer in the face. The officer was slightly injured, authorities said.

According to the office of the Higher Public Prosecutor in Belgrade, a person dressed in black opened the door of the security booth outside the embassy at around 12:15 a.m. local time. He walked toward the officer inside, identified as D.S., and threw one of his knives at him, hitting the officer in the left cheek.

Prosecutors said the officer then retrieved his service weapon and fired multiple rounds. The attacker died on the spot.

Serbia's Interior Minister Ivica Dacic said authorities are treating the incident as a terrorist attack, adding that security forces had been monitoring the assailant. Dacic said the attacker supported ISIS and had displayed a black flag bearing the group's symbol on his Instagram account. He added that the attacker was believed to be Serbian and from the town of Sabac.

Israel's foreign ministry confirmed what it called an “attempted terrorist attack”. Its statement said the incident was under investigation by the relevant authorities, that the attacker was neutralized by local police, that no embassy personnel were injured, and that the mission was closed at the time of the incident, which occurred late at night.

Photos from the scene hours after the attack show heavily armed police officers standing guard at the entrance of the embassy.

Dacic said Serbia had raised its terrorism threat level to the highest level, prompting an increased police presence at sensitive sites and crowded public places across the country.

The same embassy was attacked before. In June 2024, a crossbow-wielding assailant wounded a Serbian police officer guarding the Israeli Embassy in Belgrade before the officer returned fire, killing the attacker.

The latest attack comes a day after Israel held parliamentary elections, with exit polls pointing to no clear winner.