NEW DELHI: An Israeli embassy car in Delhi caught fire in a suspected bomb attack on Monday injuring three people, including possibly the wife of a diplomat.
Indian Foreign Minister S.M. Krishna called his Israeli counterpart Avidor Lieberman to assure him of a through probe into the mysterious incident, which Israel has blamed on Iran.However, Iran's Ambassaor to India Syed Mehdi Nabizadeh denied Tehran's role in the incident describing Israel's accusations as lies.
Hours within the blast, which came a day after the fourth anniversary of the death of Hezbollah's deputy leader Imad Mughniyah, Mr Krishna spoke to Mr Lieberman, assuring him that the law of the land would take its course.
“I just came to know about the unfortunate incident a little while earlier in which a staff member's family woman of the Israeli embassy establishment was injured. She has been rushed into the hospital. We are awaiting further information about the well-being of the woman,” Mr Krishna told reporters on the sidelines of a function.
“I just spoke to the Israeli Foreign Minister and reassured that the law of the land will take its course. We will continue with the investigations and keep him posted about the progress of the investigation,” he said.
One report said an Israeli diplomat was in the embassy car when the suspected terror blast took place in it.
According to initial investigations, two motorcycle-borne youths tailed the Israeli embassy vehicle on Aurangzeb Road in the high security zone, not far from Prime Minister's residence, and allegedly placed “something” in the rear of the car when it stopped at a traffic signal. Minutes later, there was an explosion and the Toyota Innova bearing number 109-CD-35 went into flames.
India has ordered tightening of security in diplomatic missions, especially of Israel, the United States and other western countries, located across the country.
Security establishments in New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad and Bangalore have been alerted by New Delhi and directed to beef up arrangements in diplomatic mission premises located in these cities to foil any attempt to target them, official sources said.
Reports said an attack was foiled in Georgia after an embassy staffer in Tbilisi discovered a bomb underneath his car as he was driving to the embassy on Monday morning.
“Any terrorist attack is condemned (by Iran) and we strongly reject the untrue comments by an Israeli official,” Ambassador Mehdi Nabizadeh told IRNA, the Iranian news agency. “These accusations are untrue and sheer lies, like previous times.”The Iranian envoy was reacting to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's comments blaming alleged terror attacks on Iran and Hezbollah.
Standing behind Monday's attacks was “Iran, the world's greatest exporter of terror”, Netanyahu said.
India has had an ambivalent relationship with Iran of late, buying its oil despite US-led sanctions but voting against Iran on several crucial junctures over fears of Tehran's alleged nuclear weapons programme.
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