The horrific car bombing around 6.50 pm on November 10, 2025 near Gate No. 1 of the Red Fort Metro Station killed 8 and injured 24. Scattered body parts were seen lying around and the death toll has gone up to 13.  Four persons have been detained for questioning including the owner of the Hyundai i20 car involved in the blast.

Delhi Police Commissioner Satish Golcha told reporters: “A slow-moving vehicle stopped at a red light. An explosion happened in that vehicle, and due to the explosion, nearby vehicles were also damaged. The situation is being monitored.”

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack but al-Qaeda recently called for “lone wolf attacks” in India(https://www.sentinelassam.com/amp/story/more-news/national-news/al-qaeda-issues-lone-wolf-call-in-india-marking-alarming-tactical-shift). Golcha’s description of the blast indicates this was a suicide attack unless the driver jumped off the car earlier.

Al Qaeda Call And Arrests

With the blast 12-km from the Prime Minister’s residence, there are calls for Home Minister Amit Shah’s resignation. With him, PM and Delhi CM busy in Bihar elections and police busy arresting protesters for Delhi’s “gas chamber” pollution, there are all kinds of accusations flying against the government.

Recent arrests in Faridabad (Haryana), in Jammu and Kashmir, Gujarat and Maharashtra include Dr Adeel Ahmad Rather and Dr Muzamil Shakeel (caught with 360 kg RDX and assault rifles, Dr Ahmed, Mohiyuddin Saiyed caught with Ricin poison and drone-borne weapons, Dr Shaheena, Dr Shakil, Dr Adil Ahmad (caught 2900 kg Ammonium Nitrate), and Zubair Hangargekar (earning seven-figure salary) caught with IED manuals and links to al-Qaeda. Notably, these arrests were largely made after al-Qaeda’s call for "lone-wolf attacks" in India.

The mystery of how 40 kg RDX arrived in J&K used in the 2019 car-bomb attack is yet to be resolved. Now the above-mentioned 360 kg RDX, 2900 kg Ammonium Nitrate and other terror-related catches with individuals are bigger shockers. India will have to be prepared for more terror attacks with calls for Ghazwa-e-Hind from terrorist organizations from Pakistan, Bangladesh and elsewhere.

Enhanced And Innovative Terror Threats     

Indian intelligence agencies are largely tasked to tail the opposition irrespective of which political party rules, especially since these are not under parliamentary oversight. Besides, there have been numerous cases of police personnel and officials having terrorist links. Given the scale of corruption in the country, the same can hardly be ruled out pan-India. We must look within, review the intelligence setup, and tasking which must be specific.

Terrorists today can use shoulder-fired PGMs and hand-held EW guns against civil/military targets. Drones can be used in  swarms to get through limited anti-drone cover. Drones with IR cameras can be used by night with weapon, chemical or radioactive payloads. New innovations include wall-climbing robots.

Terrorists are developing new types of explosives experimenting with commercially available products like fertilizer and chemicals, coupling them with radioactive like material to increase destructive power. Al Qaeda has devised ways to conceal explosives inside the body that can avoid detection by sophisticated scanners, in addition to undetectable liquid explosives that can be soaked into clothing and ignited when dry. Also, terrorist organizations are developing CBRN capabilities, assisted by fissile material available in the black market. Toxic radioactive agents can be paired with conventional explosives and turned into a radiological weapon.  

Cyber-attacks in the past have been successfully launched against pipelines, dams, communications, power and emergency systems at airports, sewage systems, nuclear monitoring systems, train signaling systems, automobile plants, hospital systems, and the like.  

Finally, India is in the crosshairs of state sponsored-terrorism by nations big and small, which raises threat levels to higher planes, CBRN and cyber-terrorism included. The Delhi blast may just be a wakeup call for more to follow.

(The author is an Indian Army veteran. Views expressed are personal.)