Serbian police killed an attacker outside the Israeli embassy in Belgrade on Wednesday after an officer was targeted in a "terrorist attack", outgoing Interior Minister Ivica Dacic said.
"A minor whose identity has yet to be established... attacked a member of the police with two knives," Dacic said, also raising the terrorism threat to its highest level.
The interior ministry said in a statement the guard killed the attacker in self-defense but suffered a minor knife wound to the face in the incident just after midnight on Wednesday.
Dacic said security services had been monitoring the attacker, who was "known to be a supporter of ISIS" and was believed to be from the western city of Sabac.
"His Instagram profile featured a black flag and the ISIS emblem," he added.
Dacic said the terrorism threat level had been raised to its highest, or "red alert".
"This means tighter security checks and an increased police presence at sensitive sites, including infrastructure facilities and places where large crowds gather”.
Police photos from the scene showed the guard's booth outside the embassy and the area sealed off by police tape as officers in full gear stood nearby.
Although such attacks are rare in Serbia, the Israeli embassy in Belgrade has been targeted before.
In June 2024, an attacker armed with a crossbow seriously wounded a police officer guarding the embassy before being shot dead by police.
The attacker was identified at the time as a 25-year-old man from a village near Belgrade who had embraced extremist views.
Wednesday's attack comes just days after Serbia held a key early parliamentary election on Sunday in which long-ruling former President Aleksandar Vucic was defeated by a youth-led movement after almost two years of protests against him. But Vucic and his allies still control the police as the new government is yet to be formed.
Israel also held its parliamentary vote Tuesday that exit polls said produced no clear winner.
