NEW DELHI (Monitoring Desk): A blast outside the Israeli embassy in New Delhi on Friday damaged cars but did not cause injuries, police said.
Israeli authorities were treating the explosion as a suspected attack, The Times of Israel has learned, and was stepping up security precautions at missions around the world.
The district around the embassy was sealed off after the explosion and police and bomb disposal experts took over the scene.
A police statement described it as a “very low-intensity improvised device” that blew out the windows on three nearby cars and said a preliminary investigation “suggests a mischievous attempt to create a sensation.”
Israel’s Foreign Ministry confirmed the blast and that no one was hurt.
“The incident is being investigated by Indian authorities who are in contact with the relevant Israeli officials,” the ministry said. “The foreign minister is being updated regularly and has ordered all necessary security steps be taken.”
Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi spoke with his Indian counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishankar.
“The Indian FM assured me that the Indian authorities are committed to the security of all Israeli diplomatic staff and will continue to act resolutely to locate all those involved in the explosion,” Ashkenazi tweeted, adding that “I thanked him and promised full cooperation and any help required from Israel.”
Meanwhile, Indian National Security Advisor Ajit Doval called Israel’s NSA Meir Ben-Shabbat to update him on the investigation.
Ben-Shabbat passed a message from Prime Minister Netanyahu to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi that Israel has “full confidence that Indian authorities will successfully investigate the incident and protect Israelis and Jews there,” the Prime Minister’s Office said.
