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Iranian youth planted bomb on Israeli diplomat's car?

Last updated on: February 14, 2012 20:14 IST

Indian investigators probing Monday's Israel embassy car blast, which left a diplomat and three others injured, claimed to have identified the youth who planted the explosive. Sources say that the motorcyclist who was following the SUV was an Iranian youth. 

The New Delhi attack and the foiled bid in Georgia on Monday were both attempts to target the Israelis, sources in the Intelligence Bureau said. A bomb was found attached to the car of the Israeli embassy in Tbilisi, Georgia, but was defused by the police.

Meanwhile, the Delhi police have recovered pieces of magnetic devices and explosives used in the car and are now on the lookout for the red bike the alleged bomber was riding. Police maintain that the bomber was not a novice and was trained for a few months before the attack.

Sources said all angles, including whether any outside help was received for the attack, were being probed with regard to Monday's incident. "We are scourging the CCTV footage. We are investigating whether the attacker was trailing the car for the past four days," a senior police official said.

Meanwhile, the Iranian community, especially the residents of Delhi's Paharganj area, continues to be under the scanner of the home affairs ministry. While it's almost certain that the Iranian youth planted the bomb on the diplomat's car in the capital, the police say they need to probe if he had accomplices. "All angles are being probed. It could also be possible that local gang was used for the attack. We are probing all angles," a source said.

The attack was not a stray incident but a well-planned one, said IB sources. The probe into the case appears very difficult as the footage available with the police in not clear. The number of the bike is hazy and the picture quality is very poor.

All the images were obtained from a close circuit television from a bungalow on Aurangazeb road. The images, however, show that the biker was wearing a brown jacket. Investigators are now trying to confirm these details with eyewitness accounts.

With inputs from PTI

Vicky Nanjappa