Attacker shot dead after firing crossbow at police officer outside Israeli embassy in Serbia

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — 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.

Both Serbian and Israeli officials said initial indications point to terrorism as a motive.

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.”

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The policeman was conscious when he was taken to Belgrade’s main hospital, where the bolt was removed from his neck. Hospital officials said his condition was stable after the operation.

An Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman said there was “an attempted terrorist attack today near the Israeli embassy in Belgrade.” The spokesman said the embassy was closed and no embassy staff were injured.

Dacic told reporters that the investigation is still ongoing, but “there is now every indication that the motives have to do with terrorism. Because there is no other motive why someone would attack a gendarme in front of the Israeli embassy.”

Dacic identified the attacker as a 25-year-old Serb who converted to Islam. Police are investigating his possible network and links to foreign terror groups after another person was arrested near the crime scene, he added.

“There are indications that these are people who are already known to the security services… the Wahhabi movement,” Dacic said, referring to the hardline Islamist movement. “But that has not yet been confirmed.”

Authorities have raised the security alert level in Belgrade, including at foreign embassies and government buildings, but also at public places such as shopping centers and other busy areas.

The Israeli embassy is located not far from the US embassy in an upscale Belgrade district. It is guarded by an elite police unit whose officers are equipped with automatic weapons.

Serbia maintained close relations with Israel during the Gaza war.

Associated Press writer Jovana Gec contributed to this report.