India a battleground for others' wars?

New Delhi: Monday's attack near the Israeli embassy in the national capital has far reaching implications. This is not the first time Israel has come under attack in India. What could become an alarming warning is that Israel's war against Islamists in the world can find a battlefield in India as well.

The Mumbai attacks was perhaps the first indication that the shadow war between Israel and its Islamist enemies would also be fought in India. Six Israelis died when Pakistani trained militants stormed Chabad House. It appeared to be a warning to India on its growing relationship with the Jewish state. Now four years later, there was an attack on the wife of an Israeli embassy official in the heart of Delhi.

Reports in the Israeli media say there were multiple warnings that an attack on Israeli representations abroad was imminent.

On January 5, Israel warned its tourists in Europe following an alert in Bulgarian capital Sofia. On January 13, in Thailand, a suspected Hezbollah militant was picked up after an Israeli tip-off. On January 23, in Azerbaijan, three people were held for plotting an attack on the Israeli embassy.

All the incidents coincided with the fourth anniversary of the killing of Imad Mughniyeh, Hezbollah's operations chief, in a suspected Israeli attack. In addition to that, Iran also accused Israel of killing a number of its atomic scientists.

Reports in the Israeli press say that India's geographical location in a region close to Iran makes it vulnerable to penetration, more so when official agencies in Pakistan are involved in supporting terror groups with diverse agendas. Monday's attack will reinforce memories of 26/11 and underscore that as in many other parts of the world, Israeli diplomats and tourists in India must watch their backs.

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