A man has been shot dead by Serbian police, the interior minister says, after being connected with the attacker behind a crossbow shooting at the Israeli embassy in Belgrade in June.

Interior minister Ivica Dacic says the man fired shots toward the police near the southern city of Novi Pazar late yesterday and refused to surrender.

“During the arrest, he resisted, fired three to four shots at the police, and members of the Special Anti-Terrorist Unit neutralised him,” Dacic tells local media.

He adds that the man had previously been convicted and jailed for terrorist offences.