‘Iranian group behind anti-Israel attack in Delhi’

New Delhi, Feb 27: Indian intelligence agencies have collected evidence of an Iranian organization’s involvement in the Israeli embassy car blast, highly-placed sources said on Monday.

According to sources, more proofs were being gathered to corroborate the Iranian hand in the February 13 attack on an Israeli’s diplomat’s car that left Tal Yehoshua, wife of Israeli Defence Attache in New Delhi, with spine and liver injuries.

Reports said that an Iranian could have carried out the attack but Indian authorities are waiting for remaining pieces of evidence and will consult Iran once their investigation is complete.

The reports emerged a day after a top Israeli security official claimed that Indian intelligence agencies had "considerable evidence" of Iran being involved in the anti-Israeli attack but were not releasing it in a bid to avoid public confrontation with Tehran.

A senior Israeli official told daily Ha'aretz that the Indians are "close to fully solving the case but they are not saying so publicly".

However, Indians have not "concealed the information in their possession" in quiet contacts with Israel and the United States, the unidentified senior official was quoted as saying.

It said the Indians have located the motorcycle used in the attack, have identified who purchased it, and know how and when the attackers arrived in India.

"The Indians received a great deal of assistance in the investigation from the United States and Israel and did a lot of work themselves," the daily quoted the official as saying.

The Israeli official reportedly noted that the Indian security services have decided to characterize the incident as a case that, until further notice, is under investigation.

This has lowered the pressure for the release of details, and the need to make serious decisions on how to proceed has been deferred, the source pointed out.

Indian investigators were sent to Georgia and Thailand, where there were failed attacks, a short time after the New Delhi blast, to compare findings over the explosive charges used and evidence was found of Iranian involvement in the attempts, the daily said.

PTI