Gunmen injure tourists; red alert in national capital

New Delhi : Two Taiwanese nationals were injured when unidentified gunmen fired several rounds on a tourist bus near the Jama Masjid in the national capital on Sunday morning.

Police said the miscreants escaped after firing at a place near gate number 3 of Jama Masjid at about 11.20 am.

Delhi chief minister Sheila Dixit, urging for calm, said investigations have been started into the incident.

Claiming that there was no reason to suspect it to be a terror attack at the moment, she said, ?We cannot imagine the motive behind the attack. Investigation is on and it will be wrong to speculate.?

Ministry of Home Affairs sources have also dismissed terror links to the attack at the moment, TV reports claimed.

On apprehensions being raised on Commonwealth Games security, with the event just two weeks away, the chief minister said all ?holes in the system will be plugged? and assured of more security measures, if needed.

Joint Commissioner of Delhi Police Karnail Singh said red alert has been declared and a thorough probe has been launched into the incident.

Stating that the well-being of the injured tourists was a priority now, Dixit said they were out of danger.

?We are concerned about their treatment and doctors are attending them,? she said.

The two Taiwanese tourists, in their late twenties, are being treated at a local hospital.

While one was wounded on the leg, the other sustained bullet injuries on the foot.

Local people had tried to chase the gunmen, who were on a motorbike, but the assailants managed to flee after firing 8-10 rounds.