Serbian police shot and killed Sanad Ramović, a key figure connected to a crossbow attack outside the Israeli Embassy in Belgrade, during an operation on Saturday night.
Ramović, who was associated with the June 29 attack, was located in a village near Novi Pazar, a Muslim-majority city in southern Serbia near the Kosovo border.
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Scene of the crossbow attack outside the Israeli Embassy in Belgrade
(Photo: REUTERS/Zorana Jevtic)
Serbia’s Interior Minister Ivica Dačić confirmed that Ramović, who had previously served 13.5 years for terrorism-related charges from a 2007 police shootout, resisted arrest and fired at police before being neutralized. Ramović had gone into hiding after the embassy attack, reportedly taking refuge in Kosovo.
The original attack was carried out by Miloš Žujović, who injured a police officer near the Israeli Embassy with a crossbow before being fatally shot by authorities.
Žujović, a 25-year-old resident of the municipality of Mladenovac in Belgrade, converted to Islam and took up the name Salahudin. He pledged allegiance to Islamic State leader Abu Hafs al-Hashimi al-Qurashi, whom he dubbed "the leader of all Muslims" in a video message. The exact timing and location of the clip remain undetermined, according to Radio Free Europe (RFE).
Žujović targeted the embassy on June 29, marking the tenth anniversary of the Islamic State caliphate's proclamation.
Since the October 7 Hamas terrorist attack, Israeli embassies and Jewish communities worldwide, particularly in Europe, have been on heightened alert with maximum security readiness. In recent months, there have been several attempted attacks on Israeli embassies across Europe.
On January 31, a hand grenade was thrown at the fence of the Israeli Embassy in Stockholm, though it failed to explode.
On May 17, shots were fired near the same embassy in Sweden, and on May 24, two airsoft grenades were hurled into the courtyard of the Israeli Embassy in Belgium. Investigations have pointed to Iranian involvement, using rival crime organizations to carry out these attacks.
Beyond Europe, there have been other alarming incidents, including the stabbing of an Israeli embassy worker in Beijing, a Molotov cocktail attack on the embassy in Uzbekistan and an American soldier setting himself on fire outside the Israeli Embassy in Washington.