2024 attack on the Israeli embassy in Belgrade
| Attack on the Israeli embassy in Belgrade | |
|---|---|
| Part of the Islamic terrorism in Europe | |
  Belgrade Belgrade (Belgrade) | |
| Location | Belgrade, Serbia |
| Date | 29 June 2024 Around 11:00 AM (UTC +1) |
| Target | Israeli embassy |
Attack type | Crossbow attack |
| Deaths | 1 (the perpetrator) |
| Injured | 1 (the gendarme) |
| Perpetrators | Miloš Žujović, Islamic State (claimed responsibility) |
| Motive | Revenge for Israel-Hamas war (unconfirmed) |
An attack on the Israeli embassy in Belgrade, the capital of Serbia, took place on 29 June 2024. It was carried out by Miloš Žujović, a member of the Wahhabi movement and a supporter of the Islamic State. Žujović, a convert to Islam, wounded a Serbian gendarme with a crossbow who returned fire and killed him.
Attack
[edit]The Israeli embassy in Belgrade is located in the wealthy Dedinje neighborhood. According to interior minister Ivica Dačić, the attacker had approached a small building near the embassy around 11:00, asking about a museum. The attacker had then opened the door to the small building and fired a crossbow and wounding in the neck the Serbian gendarme who was guarding the embassy. The officer returned fire and killed the assailant.[1][2][3][4]
Perpetrators and aftermath
[edit]
The perpetrator was identified as Miloš Žujović (Serbian Cyrillic: Милош Жујовић; born 1999), also known by his Islamic name Salahudin, a local of Mladenovac who had converted to Islam and joined the Wahhabi movement. After converting to Islam, Žujović moved to the Muslim-majority city of Novi Pazar with his wife who is from Plav, Montenegro. Interior minister Ivica Dačić branded the incident as a terrorist attack,[5] declaring a red threat level from terrorism.[6] The same day, an alleged co-perpetrator and a known radical Islamist Igor Despotović was arrested in Belgrade.[7] As reported, Despotović had a long and continuous communication with Žujović and was already previously convicted for inciting terrorist attacks.[8]
Prior to the attack, Žujović recorded a video message for his wife, mentioning "Israelis killing Muslims", alluding to the Israel–Hamas war.[9]
Following the attack, Serbian president Aleksandar Vučić visited the wounded gendarme Miloš Jevremović in the hospital and condemned the attack. Vučić stated the authorities are searching for more co-perpetrators.[10]
The police operation continued in the following days, with the arrest of Kemal Begović from Novi Pazar, and Haris Šund, a citizen of Bosnia and Herzegovina, suspected of having connections with Islamic extremists. It was reported that among other things, Islamic State symbols and a video message pledging allegiance to that organization belonging to the arrested have been found.[11]
On July 4th, 2024, the Islamic State-controlled newspaper al-Naba published its 450th issue where they took credit for the attack on the Israeli embassy, featuring an image of Miloš Žujović pledging allegiance to the Islamic State, titling the release “They are us and we are them”. [12]
References
[edit]- ^ "Serbian officer shot with crossbow outside Israeli embassy". www.bbc.com. Retrieved 2024-06-29.
- ^ "Attacker wounds officer guarding Israel's embassy in Serbia before being shot dead". ABC News. Retrieved 2024-06-29.
- ^ "Crossbow assailant killed after attack at Israel embassy in Serbia". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 2024-06-29.
- ^ Press, Associated (2024-06-29). "Serbia: crossbow attacker shot dead after firing bolt at Israeli embassy guard". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-06-29.
- ^ TANJUG (2024-06-29). "Dačić: Teroristički napad izvršio Miloš Žujović, konvertit iz Mladenovca". tanjug.rs (in Serbian). Retrieved 2024-06-29.
- ^ Vojvodine, Javna medijska ustanova JMU Radio-televizija. "Dačić proglasio crveni nivo pretnji od terorizma, pojačano prisustvo policije". JMU Radio-televizija Vojvodine (in Serbian (Latin script)). Retrieved 2024-06-29.
- ^ Beograd, N1 (2024-06-29). "(VIDEO) Uhapšena još jedna osoba zbog sumnje na terorističko udruživanje". N1 (in Serbian). Retrieved 2024-06-29.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Bogosav, Bojana (2024-06-30). "UBIJENI VEHABIJA I DESPOTOVIĆ DETALJNO SPREMALI TERORISTIČKI NAPAD "Blic" saznaje: Poruke otkrile da su isplanirali svaki korak". Blic.rs (in Serbian). Retrieved 2024-07-02.
- ^ Telegraf (2024-07-01). "Terorista ženi pre napada poslao video poruku: Na njoj se vidi se kako peva na ruskom u gradskom prevozu". NOVA portal (in Serbian). Retrieved 2024-07-01.
- ^ "Vučić se obratio javnosti, posetio ranjenog pripadnika Žandarmerije". Politika Online. Retrieved 2024-06-29.
- ^ "Akcije širom Srbije: Uhapšen Kemal Begović iz Novog Pazara, priveden i državljanin BiH". Sandzacke.rs (in Bosnian). 2024-06-30. Retrieved 2024-07-02.
- ^ "New issue of The Islamic State's newsletter: "al-Nabā' #450″". jihadology.net. Retrieved 2024-07-06.