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Man attacks Israeli embassy in Serbia with crossbow and is shot by police

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Belgrade, Serbia:

A Serbian policeman killed a man by shooting him in the neck with a crossbow outside the Israeli embassy in Belgrade on Saturday, in what the prime minister called an “act of terrorism.”

Police identified the attacker as a convert to Islam who was born in 1999 in the town of Mladenovac, about 50 kilometers from Belgrade.

The attack occurred around 11:00 a.m. (09:00 GMT) in the Serbian capital on Saturday, when the attacker shot the official on duty outside the Israeli embassy.

The police officer opened fire on the attacker with his weapon in self-defense, “who died as a result of his injuries,” said Interior Minister Ivica Dacic.

Authorities said some arrests were made for “preventive reasons” and that several people known to security services were suspected of being linked to the attack.

Among those arrested was a man from Belgrade who had already been imprisoned two years ago for managing several militant websites that called for “jihad” or holy war. However, he has been released from custody, Dacic said.

“There is suspicion that he was directly involved in the logistical support and organization of this terrorist attack.”

Police also said they were conducting searches in several locations.

“We are still looking for several more people, certainly one who is on Serbian territory,” President Aleksandar Vucic told reporters after visiting the wounded officer.

The attacker and his accomplices were already being pursued by the authorities before Saturday’s attack, but there was not enough evidence to arrest them, he added.

The 34-year-old officer, who was undergoing surgery in the hospital, was in his guard booth when the attack occurred.

According to authorities, the attacker had moved to Novi Pazar, the historical and political center of the Bosniak Muslim minority in Serbia and a center of Islam in the country.

Dacic told reporters there were initial indications that the attack was linked to individuals suspected of being linked to the Wahhabi movement, an ultra-conservative branch of Islam prevalent in Saudi Arabia.

He said overall security measures in Belgrade had been strengthened while special prosecutors had taken over the case.

“Terrorist act”

Serbian Prime Minister Milos Vucevic strongly condemned the incident and described it as a “heinous act of terrorism”.

The Prime Minister said his country would decisively confront the threat of terrorism and stressed that Serbian citizens could “feel safe”.

“The embassy is closed and no embassy staff were injured,” the Israeli Foreign Ministry said in a statement after an “attempted terrorist attack” took place near the embassy. The circumstances are still being investigated, it added.

Later on Saturday, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz thanked Serbian authorities on X for their “strong support and cooperation following the attempted terrorist attack on the Israeli embassy in Belgrade today.”

“Terrorism cannot be tolerated!”

Israel’s ambassador to Serbia, Yahel Vilan, expressed his gratitude on X to the wounded officer “who courageously prevented the attack.”

“I am convinced that the investigation of this shameful attack by the competent authorities will identify all those responsible and further contribute to maintaining Serbia as a safe country.”

Meanwhile, Serbia’s leading Islamic cleric Senad Halitovic strongly condemned the attack and wished the injured officer a speedy recovery.

“Such crimes violate all religious teachings, especially the teachings of Islam. Today’s crimes are the work of a thoughtless individual,” he said in a statement.

The Balkan state has continued its arms sales to Israel even after the war in the Gaza Strip began with Hamas’ attack on southern Israel on October 7. According to an AFP count based on Israeli figures, 1,195 people were killed in the attack, most of them civilians.

The militants also took hostages, 116 of whom are still in the Gaza Strip, but the army says 42 people have died.

According to the Ministry of Health, at least 37,834 people, again mostly civilians, were killed in Israel’s retaliatory offensive in Hamas-controlled Gaza.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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