Delhi police make little headway, Israel to assist blast probe

Feb 15, 2012, 11:52 GMT

New Delhi - Indian police Wednesday were investigating whether an abandoned motorbike in south Delhi was connected to an attack that injured an Israeli diplomat's wife, news reports said.

A team of Israeli forensic experts was also expected to reach New Delhi to assist in the investigation.

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

According to a witness, a motorcyclist attached a device to Koren's car and the exploded occurred seconds later.

A foiled bomb attack also occurred Monday in the Georgian capital Tblisi. Israel has accused Iran of involvement in both incidents, which Tehran has denied.

'We are finding out who is the owner of the bike. We are yet to confirm whether the bike was used in the blast,' IANS news agency quoted an unnamed Delhi police official as saying.

Police were checking more than 200 calls made from a public phone booth in Khan market area the diplomat's wife had lunch earlier in the day, Times Now television reported.

At least 100 students of Lebanese and Iranian origin who lived in Delhi were being checked out, it said citing police sources.

Tehran's Ambassador to India Mehdi Nabizadeh said Iran would wait for Indian authorities to investigate the case.

'We are not accepting or denying this. We don't know anything,' Nabizadeh was quoted as saying when asked about Israel's allegations.

The attack placed India, which enjoys good relations with both Israel and Iran, in a difficult position.

India has developed close ties with Israel, especially in defence and security, while Iran provides about 12 per cent of India's oil imports, worth about 10 billion dollars in 2009-10.

India has so far refused to join sanctions against Iran despite pressure from the United States and European nations.

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