Initial reports with forensic teams that visited the spot of the low intensity blast near the Israeli embassy in New Delhi on Tuesday night revealed that the blast was triggered by a chemical based explosive. No traces of an improvised explosive device (IED) have been found so far, which explains why the explosion did not cause heavy damage.
Searches were carried out for over three hours by the Delhi police and CCTV footages showed two suspects whose identities are being ascertained by the police.
Given the sensitivity of the location and the timing of the blast with the Israel-Hamas war drawing international attention, the police are taking extra precautions around the embassy which has witnessed tighter security measures since the war began. The war had already put the diplomatic staff under restricted movements in the capital.
Intelligence sources believe that the proximity of the blast to the embassy premises cannot rule out the possibility that the Israel-Gaza tensions are slowly spilling onto foreign soils with India being one of the key locations that could possibly become the target for a terror strike.
For now, the investigations by the Delhi police have found a letter on the blast spot which had a marking of an organisaton and a letter head typed in Hindi. The contents were abusive in nature, sources said, and the organisation that was mentioned was Sir Allah Resistance. The National Investigation Agency has also stepped in to follow up on any inter-state or trans-national links that may emerge during the course of investigation.
In the last one month, commercial ships in the Red Sea were hit by missile attacks claimed by Yemen’s Houthi rebels marking an escalation of tensions on Israeli assets abroad. Iran-backed groups in Yemen, Lebanon, Syria and Iraq have been targeting Israel and its allies with security sources pointing out that New Delhi needs to remain alert to Hamas support in the region and any retaliatory action.
