Shortly after midnight on Wednesday, a figure dressed in black walked up to the Israeli Embassy in Belgrade, Serbia. The building was closed for the night, and the only person in his path was the officer posted in the security booth out front.

The assailant, a minor carrying two knives, pulled open the door of the booth and went for the guard, according to a statement from Serbia’s prosecutor’s office. He threw one of the knives, cutting the officer on the cheek. The guard, a member of an elite unit assigned to protect the embassy, fired several shots and killed the attacker at the scene.

Serbia’s interior minister, Ivica Dacic, told the national broadcaster RTS that authorities are treating the incident as a suspected terrorist attack. The assailant shouted “Allahu akbar” during the assault, Dacic said, and Serbia’s security services had already been watching him on suspicion that he supported the Islamic State. His social media profile, the minister added, featured a black flag and the group’s symbols.

Prosecutors have identified the attacker only by the initials N.N. An investigation is underway, and the prosecutor’s office said its early findings indicate the guard acted in self-defense. His injuries were described as minor.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry said no embassy staff were hurt, noting that the attack came late at night when the mission was closed.

It is not the first time the embassy has been targeted. In June 2024, a man armed with a crossbow attacked the building and wounded a guard, an incident the Serbian government also classified as an act of terrorism.