Identity of terrorist killed in Bourgas Airport bomb attack on Israelis is known – Bulgarian interior minister
The identity of the terrorist who died in the July 2012 bomb attack on a group of Israeli tourists at Bulgaria’s Bourgas Airport has been established, Interior Minister Tsvetlin Yovchev told reporters in Sofia on April 7 2014.
Five Israelis, a Bulgarian and the bearer of the bomb died in the attack, which took place on a bus outside the airport arrivals terminal. About 30 people were injured.
An international investigation led by Bulgaria established that the terrorist attack was the work of people linked to the military wing of Hezbollah, which in turn led to a decision by the European Union to declare the Hezbollah wing a terrorist organisation.
Bulgaria has filed a formal request to be handed other suspects who have been identified in the case. This has not yet produced results. Photographic images of the suspects have been made public, as have their identities.
For a long time, the identity of the bearer of the bomb eluded investigators, as he did not appear in the databases of law enforcement and security agencies co-operating in the investigation.
Unconfirmed reports in the Bulgarian-language media on April 7 said that the terrorist who had been carrying the bomb was from Algeria.
Yovchev said that pre-trial proceedings were underway and the only person who could authorise the release of information publicly was the supervising prosecutor.
He said that the investigation still led to a connection between the attacker and Lebanon.
“How we will show that in a court case, is another question. If you ask me whether I am convinced of this, yes, I am convinced,” Yovchev said.
In February, Prosecutor-General Sotir Tsatsarov said that a third suspected accomplice in the Bourgas Airport terrorist bombing had been identified.
