Jerusalem:
Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has blamed Iran and Hezbollah for the bombings that targeted Israeli Embassy personnel in New Delhi and Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia.
"In the past few months we have witnessed several attempts to attack Israeli citizens and Jews in a number of places - Azerbaijan, Thailand and others," Mr Netanyahu said in a statement. "In each of those cases we managed to thwart the attacks with the cooperation of local officials. In all of those cases, those who stood behind the attacks were Iran and its proxy, Hezbollah."
Mr Netanyahu confirmed that an Israeli woman was injured in New Delhi and that the attempted bombing in Georgia was against a local employee of the Israeli Embassy there.
"Iran, which stands behind these attacks, is the biggest exporter of terrorism in the world," Mr Netanyahu said, adding, "We will continue to act with a strong arm, methodically and patiently, against international terrorism that originates from Iran."
"There was one attempted attack and one successful, as it were," Paul Hirschson, a spokesman for Israel's Foreign Ministry, was quoted by Reuters as saying. "In both cases, the people concerned worked with the Israeli embassies."
He confirmed that a bomb had been found in a car belonging to a staff member at the embassy in the Georgian capital Tbilisi, which was defused by local police.
The incidents came a day after the fourth anniversary of the killing of Imad Mugniya, a top Hezbollah commander whose sport utility vehicle was blown up by a powerful bomb in the Syrian capital of Damascus.
Mr Mugniya had been sought by the United States for his role in terrorist attacks that killed hundreds of Americans in the 1980s. Israel held him responsible for Hezbollah military operations in southern Lebanon from the mid-1990s. Israel officially distanced itself from the killing but was widely suspected of involvement in it.
The apparent bombings also came amid threats from Iran that it would avenge the killings of Iranian scientists. At least five scientists with connections to Iran's disputed nuclear program have been killed under mysterious circumstances since 2007, the most recent last month. Iran's leaders have blamed Israel and the United States for the killings.
As news of the New Delhi blast trickled in, Israel's Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman told reporters, "Without going into details, we can identify exactly who is responsible for the bombing and we will not let it go unanswered."
Yigal Palmor, the Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman, said that Israel was "looking into the incidents," adding, "cooperation with the local security forces is excellent."
Hezbollah, the Lebanese Shiite military and political organization, maintains strong ties to Iran and Syria. Last month, amid public warnings from the United States and Israel of a possible terrorist attack, Thai officials said that they had arrested a Lebanese man believed to be a member of Hezbollah in connection with a plot to strike tourists in Bangkok. Thai officials said that the arrest came after weeks of coordination with Israel.
The car, a Toyota Innova, was attacked less than a mile from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's residence. Indian forensic experts were examining it late in the afternoon.
Ravi Singh, a nearby service station owner, said he heard a loud blast and ran toward the burning car. Several people who were in the car behind it stopped and pulled the driver and a woman from the vehicle.
In Tbilisi, the Georgian capital, Shota Utiashvili, a spokesman for the Georgian Interior Ministry, confirmed that a bomb was discovered attached to the car of an employee of the Israeli Embassy but was defused..
"The car of a Georgian national working for the Israeli Embassy was mined," he said. "The embassy employee noticed a suspicious object and he called the police, and the police successfully defused it before it went off."
He said the car was not parked close to the embassy at the time. He said this was the first attempted attack on an employee of the Israeli Embassy. Police have not yet identified any suspects, he said.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for either of the attacks.
"In the past few months we have witnessed several attempts to attack Israeli citizens and Jews in a number of places - Azerbaijan, Thailand and others," Mr Netanyahu said in a statement. "In each of those cases we managed to thwart the attacks with the cooperation of local officials. In all of those cases, those who stood behind the attacks were Iran and its proxy, Hezbollah."
Mr Netanyahu confirmed that an Israeli woman was injured in New Delhi and that the attempted bombing in Georgia was against a local employee of the Israeli Embassy there.
"Iran, which stands behind these attacks, is the biggest exporter of terrorism in the world," Mr Netanyahu said, adding, "We will continue to act with a strong arm, methodically and patiently, against international terrorism that originates from Iran."
"There was one attempted attack and one successful, as it were," Paul Hirschson, a spokesman for Israel's Foreign Ministry, was quoted by Reuters as saying. "In both cases, the people concerned worked with the Israeli embassies."
He confirmed that a bomb had been found in a car belonging to a staff member at the embassy in the Georgian capital Tbilisi, which was defused by local police.
The incidents came a day after the fourth anniversary of the killing of Imad Mugniya, a top Hezbollah commander whose sport utility vehicle was blown up by a powerful bomb in the Syrian capital of Damascus.
Mr Mugniya had been sought by the United States for his role in terrorist attacks that killed hundreds of Americans in the 1980s. Israel held him responsible for Hezbollah military operations in southern Lebanon from the mid-1990s. Israel officially distanced itself from the killing but was widely suspected of involvement in it.
The apparent bombings also came amid threats from Iran that it would avenge the killings of Iranian scientists. At least five scientists with connections to Iran's disputed nuclear program have been killed under mysterious circumstances since 2007, the most recent last month. Iran's leaders have blamed Israel and the United States for the killings.
As news of the New Delhi blast trickled in, Israel's Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman told reporters, "Without going into details, we can identify exactly who is responsible for the bombing and we will not let it go unanswered."
Yigal Palmor, the Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman, said that Israel was "looking into the incidents," adding, "cooperation with the local security forces is excellent."
Hezbollah, the Lebanese Shiite military and political organization, maintains strong ties to Iran and Syria. Last month, amid public warnings from the United States and Israel of a possible terrorist attack, Thai officials said that they had arrested a Lebanese man believed to be a member of Hezbollah in connection with a plot to strike tourists in Bangkok. Thai officials said that the arrest came after weeks of coordination with Israel.
The car, a Toyota Innova, was attacked less than a mile from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's residence. Indian forensic experts were examining it late in the afternoon.
Ravi Singh, a nearby service station owner, said he heard a loud blast and ran toward the burning car. Several people who were in the car behind it stopped and pulled the driver and a woman from the vehicle.
In Tbilisi, the Georgian capital, Shota Utiashvili, a spokesman for the Georgian Interior Ministry, confirmed that a bomb was discovered attached to the car of an employee of the Israeli Embassy but was defused..
"The car of a Georgian national working for the Israeli Embassy was mined," he said. "The embassy employee noticed a suspicious object and he called the police, and the police successfully defused it before it went off."
He said the car was not parked close to the embassy at the time. He said this was the first attempted attack on an employee of the Israeli Embassy. Police have not yet identified any suspects, he said.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for either of the attacks.
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