Delhi on high alert after blast near Israel embassy

NEW DELHI: A low-intensity blast was reported outside the Israeli embassy in the VVIP zone at Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Marg on Friday evening, around the time when security in Lutyens’ Delhi was on the highest alert due to the Beating Retreat ceremony at Rajpath.

The blast came on the anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between India and Israel on January 29, 1992. Home minister Amit Shah, who cancelled a planned two-day visit to West Bengal after the incident, and national security adviser Ajit Doval went into a huddle with the security brass, and Israel was informed by the government that the culprits will not be spared.

According to counterterrorism operatives, the improvised explosive device (IED) used was in all probability an ammonium nitrate-fuel oil device with a basic timer, though a final confirmation of that would come after a lab test.

While CCTV footage is being examined by special cell and counterterrorism operatives for closer analysis, the device appeared to be “preliminary” as it left a crater only nine inches deep. It had small ball bearings, which became shrapnel on explosion. The car windows were shattered due to wave concussion.

“Given the nature of the device, it seems the IED was made at the behest of a cyber handler and placed by a radicalised element,” said a senior counterterrorism official, adding that the matter was being taken very seriously because of the sensitivity of the location. No one was injured.

Senior officials said the blast was being investigated as a “terrorist attack” and “professional people were behind it”, although the identity of the group behind it was not known yet. “Undoubtedly, it is a terror attack. It’s a work of professionals,” said one of the officials cited above.