Knife-Wielding Attacker Near Israeli Embassy in Belgrade Eliminated

Serbian police reported that an armed assailant, believed to be an Islamist extremist, attacked a guard outside the Israeli Embassy in Belgrade with knives overnight and was subsequently killed. Serbian Interior Minister Ivica Dačić stated the incident occurred shortly after midnight local time, with police treating it as a "terrorist attack." The nation's terror threat level has been raised to its highest, and security presence increased at key locations. Dačić identified the attacker as a minor who shouted "Allahu Akbar" during the assault. The guard, who sustained minor facial injuries, neutralized the assailant. Serbian security agencies had been monitoring the attacker and found evidence of support for the Islamic State (ISIS), including displaying the group's black flag on his Instagram account. The Israeli Foreign Ministry confirmed the attack happened while the embassy was closed and that no staff were harmed. This is the second such attack near an Israeli diplomatic mission in Serbia since the October 7th Hamas attack. In June 2024, a man armed with a crossbow injured a guard outside the embassy before being shot and killed. The earlier attacker, Miloš Zujović, was a resident of southern Serbia who had reportedly converted to Islam and become radicalized. Two months after that incident, Serbian police killed an accomplice, Senad Ramović, who opened fire on officers. Ramović was Zujović's landlord and had a prior conviction for terrorism. Serbia has generally maintained warm relations with Israel, with close military ties under President Aleksandar Vučić. However, Vučić recently lost elections, and the impact of this political shift on bilateral relations remains unclear. Following the latest attack, Chabad of Belgrade expressed concern over security, noting that previous warnings about the need for increased security at Jewish institutions had not been heeded.