Serbia Raises Terror Alert After Knife Attack Outside Israeli Embassy

Serbia raised its terrorism-threat level to its highest setting on Wednesday after an attacker armed with two knives wounded a police officer outside Israel's embassy in Belgrade. The attack took place shortly after midnight. The officer, who was guarding the diplomatic mission, shot and killed the assailant and suffered light injuries. Interior Minister Ivica Dačić described the incident as a "terrorist attack." In response, he announced increased police deployments and tighter security at key locations. The officer was a member of Serbia's Gendarmerie. Dačić said the attacker shouted "Allahu Akbar" during the confrontation outside the embassy. The heightened security measures extended beyond the mission to other key sites. The same embassy had previously been the scene of an attack in June 2024. That confrontation took place in daylight, at about 11 a.m., when an attacker used a crossbow to shoot a Serbian guard in the neck. Despite his wound, the guard returned fire and killed the attacker. Two months after that earlier attack, Serbian police killed another man linked to it after he opened fire on officers in southern Serbia. The man had been the earlier attacker's landlord.