Iran, Israel make India their battlefield

A year after the embassy attack in New Delhi, Indian agencies are determined not to let Iran and Israel use the Indian soil as their battlefield, Vicky Nanjappa reports

The attack on Israeli diplomat in New Delhi a year ago may not have yielded the results that the police expected. However, it gave the police and the Intelligence Bureau a fair idea of the pattern in which a certain section of the Iranian establishment functioned.

Although Iran has denied anything to do with the attack, many in the Indian security establishment believe that a propaganda aimed at the Israelis is in the works.

The police had suspected the hand of the Quds Force and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps behind the attack. Both units report to the Iranian Army and its intelligence wing and if given the right support from the establishment are capable of carrying out an attack that would be audacious in nature

The Quds Force is an unofficial wing of the Iranian Army, which normally carries out subversive activities against nationals of enemy nations. However, the attacks at Delhi, Georgia and Bangkok were extremely amateurish in nature and this has led the investigators to believe that the intention was not to target installations, but individuals so that a message could be conveyed.

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Today, the Indian agencies say that these attacks were more of warning signals to the Israelis. A similar modus operandi had been planned in Bangkok, Delhi and Georgia.

The Quds Force was created at a time when Iran was in war with Iraq. Today, the modus operandi is more to do with the Palestine issue and hence Israel becomes the natural target.

Indian agencies say with confidence that if the Quds Force was involved in this attack, it would have surely been approved by the Iranian intelligence. However, utmost care would have been taken as Iran would not like to create panic in India and ruin its relations. Hence, it appeared all through that this was an attack aimed at conveying a message to the Israelis.

This case has a lot of theory on hand than evidence. The Israelis were sure of Iranian involvement. However, the Indians treaded carefully. Indian agencies say that even what Israel spoke of was theory and there has been no concrete evidence that they could provide.

The Indians are well aware that this battle does not concern them and that it is only the Indian soil which is being used as a battle field between two countries. There are many Iranian students and nationals settled in India and each of them has a similar view point on the Israelis. These persons are being monitored.

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On the other hand, there have also been instances of undercover operations by Israelis in the Muslim-dominated areas. In a recent case reported from Kerala it was found that an Israeli couple was operating undercover and were gathering information regarding Muslim outfits. They were deported to Israel.

The Intelligence Bureau says that the battle between the Israelis and the Iranians would continue, not only in India, but in other parts of the world. Outfits such as the Quds Force try and target Israelis in many parts of the world. The Israelis, on the other hand, have been sending their trained nationals to gather information about groups trying to target them.

Indian agencies say that this may be a battle those two countries, but our soil will not be used for this.

Such persons are high on our radar and any such activity would be dealt with severely, an intelligence official told rediff.com.

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India has already shared these details with both countries. On the Quds Force, the Delhi Police have written a letter to Iran. A letter rogatory has also been sent to Iran regarding the members of this force alleged to be behind this attack. A response to this effect is still awaited.

However, Iran has assured to look into the issue and has said that they would also conduct an independent probe into the matter.

The magnet bomb

Also known as a sticky bomb, this improvised explosive device was used in the attacks at New Delhi and Bangkok.

This type of bomb was first used in the World War 2, but today is most extensively used in the Middle East. About the size of a palm, it can be easily concealed.

This bomb is not used to cause a major explosion, but aimed at assassinations. The impact of this bomb is normally low, but it causes more damage as it triggers an explosion in the fuel tank of the vehicle on which it is attached.

The use of the magnet or the sticky bomb is one of the primary reasons for investigators to believe that these attacks were aimed at only creating a scare and also to send out a strong message.

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