Indian authorities have claimed that the car explosion in New Delhi was the act of a suicide bomber, and that an accomplice of the attacker has been arrested.
According to AFP, India’s counterterrorism agency, the National Investigation Agency (NIA), said that both the attacker and the arrested suspect were residents of Indian-occupied Kashmir, where police have recently carried out large-scale raids.
Announcing a “major breakthrough” in the investigation, the NIA said it had arrested Aamir Rashid Ali, identified as the accomplice of the “suicide bomber.” The car used in the blast was registered in his name.
The agency said he had travelled to New Delhi to help purchase the vehicle, which was later packed with explosives (IED) and used in the attack.
The car’s driver was identified as Umar Nabi, a resident of Indian-occupied Kashmir and an assistant professor of general medicine at a university in Haryana.
The blast occurred last week near a busy metro station close to Old Delhi’s historic Red Fort, where the Indian prime minister delivers an annual Independence Day address.
A hospital official reported 12 deaths, though it is unclear whether Umar Nabi was among those killed. The NIA statement said 10 civilians were killed and 32 injured.
The NIA also claimed it had seized another vehicle belonging to Umar Nabi.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called the attack a “conspiracy,” and his government has vowed to bring the attackers, their accomplices, and their handlers to justice.
