An attacker injures a policeman guarding the Israeli embassy in Serbia before being shot dead

BELGRADE, Serbia — An attacker with a crossbow wounded a Serbian policeman guarding the Israeli embassy in Belgrade on Saturday, the Serbian Interior Ministry said. The policeman responded by shooting the attacker.

Interior Minister Ivica Dacic said in a statement that the attacker fired a bolt at the officer, hitting him in the neck. He said the officer then “used a weapon in self-defense and shot the attacker, who died from his injuries.”

The police officer was conscious when he was taken to Belgrade’s largest emergency hospital, where he will undergo surgery to remove the bolt from his neck, it said.

The identity of the attacker is still being determined.

“All circumstances of the attack and possible motives are being investigated,” Dacic said.

Serbia maintains close relations with Israel despite Israel’s armed intervention in the Gaza Strip.