Serbian police kill knife-wielding assailant outside Israeli embassy in Belgrade in suspected terror attack

Summary

An assailant attacked a guard with knives outside the Israeli Embassy in Belgrade just after midnight on Wednesday and was shot dead by police, according to Serbian police. Interior Minister Ivica Dacic said police were treating the incident as a "terrorist attack" and a probe had been launched, and police declared the highest terror alert after the incident, according to Deutsche Welle. The Serbian interior ministry said the assailant was a minor who had an Islamic State flag on an Instagram account and shouted "Allahu Akbar" during the assault, according to The Times of Israel, and The New York Times reported that the government said the attacker appeared to be a supporter of the Islamic State. The Straits Times reported that a suspected Islamist from Sabac rushed at an officer with two knives and wounded him in the cheek before being shot dead. The reports differ on whether the wounded man was a guard or a policeman, and none of the reports name the assailant. Euronews noted that a similar attack took place outside the same embassy in June 2024, when a man wounded a Serbian police officer before being shot dead by a guard.

Timeline

1. Hindustan Times

   28 Oct 2026, 06:37 UTCSource ↗

   Hindustan Times reports that Interior Minister Ivica Dacic said police were treating the incident outside the Israeli embassy in Belgrade as a "terrorist attack" and that a terror attack probe had been launched.

2. ABC News

   28 Oct 2026, 06:46 UTCSource ↗

   ABC News reports that Serbian police said an unidentified assailant attacked a guard with knives outside the Israeli Embassy in Belgrade and was killed just after midnight Wednesday.

3. The Straits Times

   28 Oct 2026, 07:20 UTCSource ↗

   The Straits Times reports that a suspected Islamist from Sabac rushed at an officer outside the Israeli embassy in Serbia with two knives, wounded him in the cheek, and was then shot dead by the officer.

4. Euronews

   28 Oct 2026, 07:27 UTCSource ↗

   Euronews reports that the Belgrade attack is a suspected terrorist attack and that a similar attack took place outside the Israeli Embassy in June 2024, when a man wounded a Serbian police officer before being shot dead by a guard.

5. The Times of Israel

   28 Oct 2026, 07:48 UTCSource ↗

   The Times of Israel reports that the Serbian interior ministry called the incident a "terror attack" and said the knife-wielding assailant, a minor, had an Islamic State flag on an Instagram account and shouted "Allahu Akbar" during the attack on the guard before being shot dead.

6. Deutsche Welle

   28 Oct 2026, 08:48 UTCSource ↗

   Deutsche Welle reports that police killed a "minor" who attacked a guard at Israel's embassy in Belgrade with knives, and that Interior Minister Ivica Dacic said police had declared the highest terror alert after the incident.

7. The New York Times

   28 Oct 2026, 12:36 UTCSource ↗

   The New York Times reports that a knife-wielding attacker, a minor who appeared to be a supporter of the Islamic State according to the government, was fatally shot outside the Israeli embassy in Serbia, and that authorities have described it as a terrorist attack.