Donald Trump claims Soleimani was behind Delhi terror plots

Speaking at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, US President Donald Trump accused deceased Iranian General Qassem Soleimani of orchestrating terror plots in New Delhi. In a public statement, the president who was impeached recently said: "Soleimani made the death of innocent people his sick passion, contributing to terrorist plots as far away as New Delhi and London."

Donald Trump defended his order for a missile strike that killed Solaimani and seven other top Iranian military personnel at Baghdad International Airport on Friday.

"Today we remember and honour the victims of Soleimani's many atrocities and we take comfort in knowing that his reign of terror is over. Soleimani was plotting imminent and sinister attacks on American diplomats and military personnel, but we caught him in the act and terminated him. For years, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and its ruthless Quds Force -- under Soleimani's leadership -- has targeted, injured, and murdered hundreds of American civilians and servicemen," he said speaking of the country's move to kill the terrorist.

He listed several alleged attacks directed by Soleimani and carried out by the Quds Force and allied militias.

While Trump did not specify the exact terror plots in India, he may have been alluding to a 2012 bombing of the car of the wife of the Israeli defence attache to India.

Tal Yehoshua Koren was injured and underwent surgery to remove shrapnel and her driver and two bystanders were also hurt in the attack on February 13, 2012, using a bomb that was attached to the vehicle with a magnet. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Iran was behind that attack and another attempted attack using a similar technique in Georgia.

The case not been resolved so far and a conclusive link has not been made by India to Iran.

An Indian journalist, Syed Mohammad Ahmad Kazmi, was arrested on March 6 in connection to the case that year. He was accused of being a part of a conspiracy to carry out the attack and was held under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act. He was later released on bail by the Supreme Court in October on the condition that he does not go abroad.

According to news reports, Delhi police alleged that the journalist had carried out reconnaissance for the Iranians who carried out the attack.

Donald Trump blamed Soleimani fro the recent attacks on US targets in Iraq, including rocket strikes that killed an American and injured four American servicemen, as well as the assault on the US embassy in Baghdad earlier this week.