Mossad aiding investigation of Monday’s New Delhi attack
Indian officials say bomber was ‘well-trained’; device went off within five seconds
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Indian Home Minister P. Chidambaram told the press Tuesday that a bomb attack on an Israeli Embassy vehicle a day before was carried out by a “well-trained person.” Reports say Mossad agents arrived in India to assist local investigators.
Chidambaram said the police believe that a single motorcycle driver came from behind the car while it was stopped at a red light and attached an explosive device to the rear right-hand passenger door. When the light changed, the motorcycle passed the car and proceeded in an unknown direction.
Israel’s Channel 10 reported late Tuesday evening that Israeli specialists working for the Mossad are taking part in the investigation. According to the report, four experts were in New Delhi working with local authorities.
According to an eyewitness, the explosion happened “within seconds,” while authorities estimate that the device exploded four to five seconds after it was attached.
According to Indian news site NDTV, police are focusing on Iranians in India in their investigation.
“It’s quite clear that a very well-trained person has committed this attack,” said Chidambaram. “There is also reason to believe that the target was the Israeli diplomat’s wife, and therefore one has to proceed on the basis that it was a terrorist attack… Special teams have been deployed to locate the motorcycle and the identity of the driver.”
He added that images from closed-circuit TV cameras were being scanned but that so far no useful information had been obtained.
“We condemn this incident,” Chidambaram continued. “At the moment I am not pointing a finger at any particular group or organization, but whoever did it, we condemn it in the strongest terms. Diplomats of every country are entitled to live and work here in peace and security.”
The New Delhi police commissioner reports that the main victim of the attack, Tal Yehoshua Koren, is in no danger and is in stable condition after suffering a minor spinal injury.
In Israel, Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch raised the alert level following the incidents, according to Ynet. Aharonovitch said there was no concrete knowledge of an impending attack but he had decided to raise it based on intelligence reports.
He added that Israel knew who initiated the attack and would not sit idly by, according to the news portal.
The Times of Israel Community.