by Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Europe Bureau Chief

JERUSALEM/BELGRADE (Worthy News) – Serbia has raised its terrorism threat level to the highest possible level after a suspected Islamic State supporter attacked a police officer guarding Israel’s embassy in Belgrade with knives before being shot dead, authorities said.

The attacker, described by Serbian officials as a minor, struck at about 12:15 a.m. Wednesday, wounding the officer in the face before being killed in what prosecutors described as self-defense.

Caretaker Interior Minister Ivica Dačić said the unidentified assailant, believed to be from the western Serbian town of Šabac, attacked the officer with two knives while shouting “Allahu Akbar,” Arabic for “Allah is greatest.”

Prosecutors explained that the attacker, dressed in black, opened the door of a police guard booth outside the embassy and rushed toward the officer, throwing a knife that struck his left cheek.

The officer, a member of Serbia’s elite Gendarmerie police unit identified only by the initials D.S., fired several shots from his service weapon, killing the attacker at the scene, according to investigators. He suffered minor injuries and was reported to be in good condition, officials said.

SERBIA RAISES TERROR ALERT

Dačić said Serbian security agencies had been monitoring the attacker, whom he described as an Islamic State supporter who displayed the extremist organization’s black flag and emblem on social media platform Instagram.

Authorities have not established whether Islamic State directed the attack or whether the suspect acted independently.

The minister said Serbia had raised its terrorism threat level to “red,” its highest designation, ordering increased police patrols and tighter security around sensitive locations, critical infrastructure and crowded public areas.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry confirmed what it called an “attempted terrorist attack” near its embassy, saying no diplomatic personnel were injured and the mission was closed when the incident occurred.

In Belgrade, Israeli Ambassador Avivit Bar-Ilan said she was deeply shocked by the violence and that Serbia’s caretaker interior minister had pledged a thorough investigation into the attack.

ISRAEL CONDEMNS ATTACK

“Terrorism knows no borders,” she wrote on social media, thanking the Serbian officer whose courage and decisive response, she said, prevented potentially greater bloodshed.

The violence marked the second attack targeting police guarding Israel’s embassy in Belgrade in just over two years.

In June 2024, an attacker armed with a crossbow seriously wounded a Serbian police officer in the neck outside the same diplomatic mission before being shot dead by the officer.

Serbian authorities identified that attacker as a 25-year-old convert to Islam who had become radicalized.

Wednesday’s attack came amid political uncertainty in Serbia and Israel, following parliamentary elections in both countries.

SERBIAN AND ISRAELI ELECTIONS

In Serbia, a student-led movement defeated the political bloc associated with longtime leader Aleksandar Vučić in Sunday’s early parliamentary election, following nearly two years of anti-government protests. However, the outgoing administration remains in office in a caretaker capacity until a new government is formed.

Israel also held parliamentary elections Tuesday, with initial exit polls showing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s political bloc and the main opposition closely matched, leaving the formation of a new government uncertain.

There was no immediate evidence linking Wednesday’s attack to either election.

Serbia, which maintains close diplomatic and security relations with Israel, has increased protection around sensitive sites as prosecutors continue investigating the latest violence.

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