The Centre has asked the NIA to probe the explosion near the Israeli Embassy after preliminary investigations have indicated that Islamist radicals may be targeting the Israelis in several countries. Hours after the blast in the national capital on Friday, a bomb was also discovered near the Israeli Embassy in Paris thus strengthening the theory of a well-planned coordinated international conspiracy. The NIA and other police agencies are also in close touch with Mossad, which is helping in putting the puzzle together. Israeli Ambassador Ron Malka told the Indian Express that there had been “threats” over the past few weeks and the embassy was in the heightened state of alert. However, he did not blame any country though Indian investigators are, amongst other angles, probing the possible role of some Iranian groups which want to avenge the killings of Major General Qasem Solemani and nuclear scientist, Dr Mohsen Fakhrizedah, who were allegedly assassinated by US and Israeli agencies respectively. The blast near the embassy on Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Marg has put Indian agencies on high alert since the site is located in the heart of Lutyens’ Delhi, hardly 2 km away from the official residences of the Prime Minister and the Union Home Minister. The explosive used has been identified as PETN which is normally used by the military, and is considered to be far more lethal than RDX and many other such materials.
This is not the first time that a pre-planned attack has been executed against the Israelis. In 2012, an Israeli woman diplomat was seriously injured when a bomb went off while her vehicle was waiting at the traffic signals on the Safdarjung Road, just before the left turn towards the APJ Abdul Kalam Road (then Aurangzeb road). Around the same time, there was a blast near the Israeli Embassy in Thailand and a bomb was discovered under a car near the Israeli Embassy in Georgia, resulting in speculation of an Iranian group being responsible for the incidents. The Iranians denied the allegations and have also so far not responded to accusations of their involvement in Friday’s blast. The Israeli Ambassador has been careful and has so far not named any country. Attack on diplomats or Embassy premises is rare in New Delhi though in the past, there have been several sensational incidents that have taken place. In the early 1980s, Mustafa Al Marzook, a Kuwait diplomat, was gunned down by two unidentified men as he was getting into his car at Gitanjali in South Delhi. The killers were never apprehended. A few years later, Khitzichenko, a Soviet Embassy official was shot dead by two motor cycle-borne youths on Satya Marg, while he was returning to his home after shopping at Yashwant Place with his wife. The Indian agencies had identified the two assassins but they were never arrested. Sometime later, there was a failed Bazooka attack on the US Embassy. The latest instance is being viewed with all the seriousness and security in and around the Embassy and the Diplomatic Enclave has been stepped up. New Delhi has to ensure that its close ties with Tel Aviv are not impacted.