Serbian police shot dead a young man outside Israel’s embassy in Belgrade in the early hours of Wednesday after authorities called the incident a terrorist attack. According to the BBC, Interior Minister Ivica Dačić said the attacker rushed a police officer with two knives while shouting “Allahu Akbar”.

The officer sustained a minor knife wound to the face and returned fire. Dačić said the suspect, not publicly identified at the time of his remarks, was a minor, a Serbian citizen and monitored by security services as a supporter of Islamic State; he had reportedly posted an image of the group’s flag on Instagram.

The minister raised the terrorism threat level to “red alert”, the highest, meaning stricter checks and a stronger police presence at infrastructure sites and crowded places. He visited the wounded officer, who reportedly did not need hospital care.

Israel’s foreign ministry confirmed that no embassy staff were injured and that the mission was closed at the time. AP reports the same frame: an attack on a guard from an elite unit protecting the building, ending with the assailant’s death.

It is the second such attack on Belgrade’s Israeli embassy in less than three years; in June 2024 a man shot a police officer in the neck with a crossbow, and the officer killed the attacker. Wednesday’s investigation continues; later local-media details about identity remain to be confirmed officially.

Serbian authorities treat the case as a terrorist act on national territory. The sources consulted do not indicate that Israeli diplomatic staff were wounded; the embassy was closed when the attack occurred.

Image: Belgrade (Wikimedia Commons).

Sources consulted: Serbian shot dead after attacking officer outside Israeli embassy, minister says - BBC; Serbian police say assailant killed after attack outside the Israeli Embassy in Belgrade - AP News.