Minor Blast Near Israel Embassy Sparks Scare In Delhi
The low-intensity bomb that went off near the Israel embassy on Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Road in New Delhi on Friday evening, may have been put together by an amateur, possibly guided by a cyber handler abroad, counter-terror officials said. The bomb appeared to have been planted in a flower pot on the road divider, police said. A letter in an envelope addressed “to Israel Embassy ambassador” has been found at the spot, police sources said.
According to counter-terrorism officials in New Delhi, there is enough to suggest the involvement of Tehran in the blast, although investigators are still looking for the people who planted the bomb. Israeli missions have been on alert around the world in the wake of the assassination of Iran’s top nuclear scientist in November of last year. Tehran has blamed Israel and promised revenge. Israel’s Ambassador to India Ron Malka said Saturday that the embassy in New Delhi had been on high alert because of “threats” it had been preparing for, even before the small bomb went off outside the mission.
After the IED exploded around 5.11 pm, the investigators recovered a letter addressed to Israeli Ambassador to India, Ron Malka. The letter was addressed to “ The Terrorist, Devil of Terrorist Nation Dr Ron Malka” and was written by someone who identified himself as Sarallah India Hezbollah. While Ya Sarallah means one who is dead but has not yet been avenged, Hezbollah is the Shia Islamist political party in Lebanon with a sword arm — a sworn enemy of Israel. The letter swears revenge for the killing of Iran Quds Commander Qassem Soleimani, and Abu Mahdi Al Muhandis, who were killed in a US drone attack in January 2020, and Iranian nuclear physicist Dr Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, who died in a car bomb attack in Iran in November 2020.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar spoke to his Israeli counterpart Gabi Ashkenazi soon after the incident and assured him of “fullest protection” to Israel’s mission and its diplomats in India. Investigations by Indian security agencies into the improvised explosive device (IED) blast outside the Israeli Embassy on Friday evening are still not conclusive but the needle of suspicion is pointing towards Iran with local involvement.
“Deliberate efforts have been made to firewall the real perpetrators behind the terror incident with false flags and deniability built into the attack that was carried out at the behest of Iran,” said a senior official.
According to available evidence, at 3.27 pm, much before the blast at the Israeli embassy, a Telegram (messaging app) entity, VikarUdDeen@Vikar45 claimed responsibility for the blast near the Israeli Embassy on behalf of an unknown group called “ Jaish ul Hind.” This message was posted by Vikar on a Telegram group in the ISIS-linked group Qayam Forum (Telegram ID @brownisbest_88). The Jaish ul Hind has a Facebook account (jaish.ulhind), which is currently locked, a private group with 56 members. The message posted by Vikar was forwarded and posted in several other ISIS-linked Telegram groups such as Jaag Muslman Jaag, Muslim Groups and Azaadi ki Awaaz Channel of which Vikar is also a member. ISIS is a hard-line Sunni organisation, which considers Shias as non-believers. Investigations have shown that the internet protocol address of Vikar is shown to be Herat in Afghanistan, which has considerable Shia Iran influence. But this appears to be a false flag, the officials said.
By Karishma Gwalani
