Police examining shipment path of Delhi terror bomb parts

Test show that components used to make the “sticky bomb” may not have been locally procured.

By KANCHAN GUPTA JERUSALEM POST CORRESPONDENT
India police inspect car after embassy attack_390 (photo credit: Reuters)
India police inspect car after embassy attack_390
(photo credit: Reuters)
NEW DELHI – Forensic tests are believed to have revealed that some of the components used to make the “sticky bomb” that was planted on an Israeli Embassy car on February 13 and wounded the defense attaché’s wife may not have been locally procured.
This was the first time that such a bomb with a magnetic base, similar to the one which exploded in Bangkok on February 14, was used in a terrorist attack in India which has seen numerous incidents of terror bombings. Investigators are looking into the possibility that the source of the material for the two bomb was the same.
Since security at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport, as at all airports in India, is very high and all baggage is screened, it is unlikely that any of the three Iranians – Houshang Afshar Irani, Syed Ali Mahdiansadr and Mohammadreza Abolghasemi – who have been named as responsible for the attack, carried it on them when they entered India in early January. The bomb is said to have been planted on the car by Iranian citizens.
In view of the possibility that the material for the bomb was brought in from abroad, most possibly from Iran, a source said investigators are exploring whether “the diplomatic route” could have been used. Diplomatic pouches or bags are neither screened nor inspected, as per international protocol.
They are addressed to the embassy concerned and are collected by embassy officials.
“If this proves to be true, it would lead to a massive row. A lot of explaining would have to be done by the recipient embassy,” the source said.
Given the sensitive nature of the issue, this particular aspect of the investigation and findings are being kept under wraps.
While Irani took a flight out of Delhi to Malaysia, and from there a connecting flight to Iran, hours after the bombing, his two accomplices, it now transpires, left the city two days before the attack. Open warrants have been secured against them and Interpol’s assistance has been sought by way of issuing Red Corner notices.
Meanwhile, the body of evidence indicating Iranian involvement in the bombing continues to grow by the day.
Delhi Police, during further searches at the residence of Syed Mohammed Ahmad Kazmi, the Indian journalist arrested for allegedly providing logistical support to the bombers, has found an Iranian SIM card. It was used to store 15 telephone numbers of contacts in Iran to whom he made several calls from his cellphone.
Police are also trying to unravel the source of cash remittances to Kazmi’s and his wife’s bank accounts from Iran.
A team of investigators is scheduled to leave for Thailand where they will compare notes with Bangkok Police and also question the Iranians who have been arrested for planning similar bombings targeting Israeli Embassy personnel there. Investigators hope this will help them tie up loose ends and establish a larger conspiracy.