Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vucic said the increased security risk level is likely to remain in place until July 2, referring to the incident where an attacker injured a policeman outside the Israeli Embassy in Belgrade the day before. “I think they will resolve everything by Tuesday and then everything will be fine,” Vučić told TV Prva.
The level of security threats from terrorism – which was raised the day before – means an increased police presence. Vucic also said that “the attacker was extremely well trained” and he attacked the policeman with a bow and arrow, having the bow in his bag, “so that the attack was completely unexpected”. During the attack on the Embassy, the attacker was killed by the policeman who was wounded. The health condition of the injured policeman is out of danger.
The Minister of Internal Affairs of Serbia, Ivica Dacic, told Serbian public television that two people have been arrested, adding that “terrorism cannot defeat the state”. He said that the police action is continuing throughout Serbia and last night several locations were checked and dozens of people were interrogated. “The prosecutor’s office will decide how to act”, said Dacic, adding that “the synagogue in Belgrade was likely the first target of the attackers”.
The slain attacker was identified as Milosh Zhujovic, who, according to Dacic, was from Mladenovac and had converted to Islam. “It has been established that the person who carried out the terrorist attack is Miloš Zhujović [1999], religious name Salahudin, convert, from Mladenovac, who has moved to live in Novi Pazar,” the Serbian Interior Ministry said on Saturday.
On June 29, the police conducted checks in several locations in Novi Pazar, following suspicions that they may be related to the attack. Novi Pazari, located about 270 kilometers from Belgrade, is a municipality inhabited by a majority of Bosniaks. According to the Associated Press agency, a spokesman for the Israeli Foreign Ministry said on Saturday that “there was an attempted terrorist attack near the Israeli Embassy in Belgrade.
