Pune, Apr 9: Maharashtra ATS today claimed to have made a breakthrough by identifying Yasin Bhatkal, a relative of Indian Mujahideen founder Riyaz Bhatkal, as the mastermind behind the Pune bomb blast in February in which 17 people were killed.

Yasin, who hails from Karnataka and has been absconding since the blast, will be arrested soon, the ATS said.

Indian Mujahideen, said to be a home-grown terror outfit, is suspected to be behind the February 13 blast in Pune's upscale Koregaon Park area. It had ripped through the German Bakery, a popular eatery for foreigners near the Osho Ashram. Among the killed were four foreigners.

The ATS, which has submitted a preliminary report on investigations into the terror attack - the first after 26/11- has claimed that the suspects have been identified and they would be arrested soon.

"One of the prime suspects has been identified as Yasin, who hails from Bhatkal village in Karnataka. We believe he is related to Riyaz who is also absconding," it said.

The investigating agency has identified four more suspects involved in the blast, an ATS source said, adding they include the planters of the bomb-laden bag which exploded at the bakery.

Home minister R R Patil had on Tuesday told the Legislative Council the suspects would be arrested in a few days and more details would be disclosed at a later stage.

Indian Mujahideen has been blamed by the police for a string of bomb blasts across the country since 2006. Twenty-two of its members have been arrested so far for their alleged involvement in blasts at Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Delhi and planting explosives in Surat.