‘Attacker’ killed in front of Israeli embassy in Belgrade, officer wounded: Minister

A Serbian police officer on Saturday killed a man who shot him in the neck with a crossbow in front of the Israeli embassy in Belgrade, the Serbian interior minister said.

Around 11:00 am (0900 GMT) an "unknown person, whose identity is being determined, shot a member of the gendarmerie, who was on duty securing the Israeli embassy, from a crossbow and hit him in the neck", said Interior Minister Ivica Dacic.

The officer "used a weapon in self-defence and defeated the attacker, who died as a result of his injuries", he added in a statement.

He told reporters later that there were early indications that people suspected of being linked to the Wahhabi movement -- an ultra-conservative branch of Islam that dominates in Saudi Arabia -- were being connected to the attack.

Dacic said several people had been arrested for "prevention reasons" and that overall security had been stepped up in Belgrade.

"There is no doubt that this is a terrorist act directed against the Serbian state and a member of the gendarmerie," he said.

The wounded officer was undergoing surgery in hospital, he added, and special prosecutors had taken over the case.