Terrorist shoots Serbian policeman with crossbow near Israeli embassy in Belgrade

A Serbian policeman was seriously wounded when a terrorist shot a crossbow bolt in his neck outside the Israeli embassy in the Serbian capital of Belgrade on Saturday, multiple media outlets reported.

The policeman shot and killed the terrorist before he was evacuated to a hospital in critical condition.

Serbian Interior Minister Ivica Dačić said the attack happened shortly before noon.

At first, the suspect asked the policeman for directions several times, and then “came back again, pulled out the bow and arrow from his bag - and shot the policeman in the neck,” Dačić explained.

“There is no doubt that this is a terrorist attack,” Serbia’s Interior Ministry later stated. Dačić noted the alleged connection between the attacker, who was known to authorities, and the “Wahhabi movement” was being investigated.

Wahhabism is a Sunni Islamist movement connected to the radical Salafi ideology and is the official doctrine of Saudi Arabia.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry stated: “Today there was an attempted terrorist attack in the vicinity of the Israeli embassy in Belgrade. The embassy is closed and no employee of the embassy was injured. A local police officer was injured. The circumstances of the incident are being investigated.”

Israeli Ambassador to Serbia Yahel Vilan wrote that he was deeply shocked by the incident.

“I would like to express my gratitude for Miloš Jevremović, a member of the Gendarmerie, who courageously prevented the attack, and wish him a speedy and successful recovery on behalf of the State of Israel,” he wrote on 𝕏.

“Also, I thank the Vice President of Serbia and the Minister of the Interior, Ivica Dačić, for the telephone conversation, during which I expressed my gratitude for the security that my team and I enjoy in Serbia, which makes us feel completely safe every day, including today,” Vilan added.

Later in the day, Serbian media reported that the attacker had converted to Islam and was later radicalized.

According to Ynet News, the Israeli embassy is located close to the U.S. embassy in an upscale neighborhood of Belgrade, secured by a heavily armed elite unit of the local police.

Israeli embassies have been increasingly threatened since the Hamas attack on Oct. 7 and the subsequent war, and many have raised their vigilance and alert levels in its aftermath.

Several Israeli embassies were temporarily closed at the beginning of April, coordinated by Shin Bet and the foreign ministry, due to fears of revenge attacks by the Iranian regime following an Israeli strike that killed a senior Iranian operative in the Syrian capital, Damascus.

In late January, a hand grenade was thrown at the fence of the Israeli embassy in Stockholm but did not explode. On May 17, shots were fired near the same embassy.

On May 24, two “airsoft” grenades were thrown into the yard of the Israeli embassy in Belgium.

According to Ynet, an investigation revealed Iran as being responsible for the incidents, using local criminal organizations.