High alert in Israel as Delhi police seek bomb attack suspect

Feb 14, 2012, 13:46 GMT

New Delhi - Indian police were trying Tuesday to track a motorcyclist, in connection with a car bomb blast that seriously injured an Israeli diplomat's wife, while in Israel the incident prompted a heightened security alert.

Tal Yehoshua Koren, the wife of an Israeli Defence Ministry representative, suffered shrapnel injuries in Monday's attack at a traffic light in central Delhi.

The driver of her car and two men in the vehicle behind also suffered minor injuries when, according to a witness, a motorcyclist attached a device to Koren's car which exploded seconds later.

Police were examining closed-circuit television footage from private residences and government buildings in the area to trace the biker's route, federal Home Minister P Chidambaram said.

But the video footage had not revealed an image of the biker, Chidambaram said.

'A very well-trained person has carried out this attack,' the minister said, adding, 'At the moment we are not pointing a finger at any group or organization.'

Israel has blamed Iran, which dismissed the accusation.

In Israel, Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonvich ordered police to raise the level of alert throughout the country.

Police Spokesman Mickey Rosenfeld said the decision came after a situation assessment carried out after the Delhi bomb attack, and a foiled bombing in the Georgian capital Tbilisi on the same day.

Security would be heightened in Israeli public places as well as embassies, airports and other locations frequented by foreigners.

He added however that Israel had no specific information regarding a possible attack.

An unnamed security official told Israel Radio he thought there would be more attacks against Israeli targets worldwide.

Surgeons have removed most of the shrapnel from Koren's body, including her spinal cord, according to Arun Bhanot, a surgeon at the Primus Super Speciality Hospital.

'She is stable and responding. She should start improving in a few days,' Bhanot said.

Two of the four others injured had been discharged from hospital, Chidambaram said.

A team of investigators from Israel was en route to India, NDTV news channel reported citing diplomatic sources.

Israeli media pointed out that the Delhi blast and the attempted attack in Tbilisi occurred a day after the fourth anniversary of the assassination of Hezbollah military chief Imad Mughniyeh in Damascus on February 12, 2008.

Nobody claimed responsibility for the killing, but Hezbollah blamed Israel and vowed revenge.

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