[h=3]By GORDON FAIRCLOUGH and JOSHUA MITNICK[/h]
BulfotoAgence France-Presse/Getty ImagesMedics help a woman wounded in an attack on a bus packed with Israelis headed for a Black Sea resort area.
A deadly attack targeting Israeli tourists in Bulgaria was the work of a suicide bomber, who boarded a bus with newly arrived vacationers and detonated his explosives, killing six people and himself, authorities said Thursday.
A deadly attack targeting Israeli tourists in Bulgaria appears to have been the work of a suicide bomber, who detonated his explosives, killing six people and himself. Josh Mitnick has details on The News Hub. Photo: AFP/GettyImages.
Investigators discovered images of the suspected bomber on security-camera footage recorded before the attack, said Bulgaria's interior minister, Tsvetan Tsvetanov. Mr. Tsvetanov also said police found a fake driver's license from the U.S. state of Michigan on the attacker's remains.
Five Israelis were killed in the attack outside the airport in the Bulgarian Black Sea resort city of Burgas on Wednesday afternoon, making it the deadliest assault on Israelis abroad since 2004, when assaults on two Egyptian resorts killed 12 Israelis. The Bulgarian bus driver also died.
An explosion tore through a bus packed with Israeli tourists in a Bulgarian beach-resort city, killing four people, wounding dozens and heightening tensions after Israel quickly blamed Iran. Josh Mitnick has details on The News Hub. Photo: AFP/GettyImages.
No group claimed responsibility and the nationality of the bomber was still unknown, Bulgarian authorities said.
Bulgarian authorities released footage of the person suspected of carrying out the bombing, which showed a lanky, long-haired man clad in a T-shirt, plaid shorts and white sneakers walking in the airport terminal. He had a large backpack on his back and had another bag in front.
Mr. Tsvetanov, the interior minister, said the suspect's fingerprints had been taken, as well as DNA samples, in an effort to establish his identity.
Israeli officials accused Iran of orchestrating the bombing along with its ally, the Lebanon-based Shiite militant group Hezbollah. Israel said the attack is part of a series of other plots targeting Israelis around the world in recent months. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged to respond forcefully.
Iranian state TV denied Iranian involvement, saying Israel's allegations were "ridiculous." Hezbollah also denied involvement.
"The direct perpetrators are Hezbollah and, of course, Iranian sponsorship is above them all the time," Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Thursday. "Israel will do all it can to find those responsible and punish them, both those who carried it out directly and those who dispatched them and mete out punishment."
European Pressphoto AgencySmoke billowed from the scene of the explosion, and several buses and cars at the airport parking lot were on fire near the bus.
Israel's deputy foreign minister, Danny Ayalon, said the government was preparing to submit a formal complaint to the United Nations against Iran and Hezbollah for their alleged involvement.
In the hours after the bombing Wednesday, Mr. Netanyahu placed the blame squarely on Tehran. "All signs point to Iran," Mr. Netanyahu said Wednesday. "Just in the past few months, we have seen attempts by Iran to harm Israelis in Thailand, India, Georgia, Kenya, Cyprus and more. This is an Iranian terror attack that is spreading across the world."
U.S. officials have said they suspect Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps was behind plots uncovered in Cyprus and Kenya recently, saying Iran is retaliating for the assassination of Iranian nuclear scientists, which Iran blames on Israel, as well as for tightening Western sanctions on the country.
Wednesday's bombing raised tensions across the Middle East, amid escalating fighting in Syria and a standoff between Iran and the West over Iran's nuclear program.
Bulgarian authorities said they have stepped up security in Burgas, a beach resort area that has become popular recently with Israeli visitors and are cooperating with U.S. and Israeli officials as they investigate the bombing.
The bomber struck as tourists, recently arrived by plane from Tel Aviv, boarded buses that were to ferry them to hotels at about 5:30 p.m. local time. In addition to those killed, more than 30 people were wounded.
Write to Gordon Fairclough at [email protected]
A deadly attack targeting Israeli tourists in Bulgaria was the work of a suicide bomber, who boarded a bus with newly arrived vacationers and detonated his explosives, killing six people and himself, authorities said Thursday.
A deadly attack targeting Israeli tourists in Bulgaria appears to have been the work of a suicide bomber, who detonated his explosives, killing six people and himself. Josh Mitnick has details on The News Hub. Photo: AFP/GettyImages.
Investigators discovered images of the suspected bomber on security-camera footage recorded before the attack, said Bulgaria's interior minister, Tsvetan Tsvetanov. Mr. Tsvetanov also said police found a fake driver's license from the U.S. state of Michigan on the attacker's remains.
Five Israelis were killed in the attack outside the airport in the Bulgarian Black Sea resort city of Burgas on Wednesday afternoon, making it the deadliest assault on Israelis abroad since 2004, when assaults on two Egyptian resorts killed 12 Israelis. The Bulgarian bus driver also died.
An explosion tore through a bus packed with Israeli tourists in a Bulgarian beach-resort city, killing four people, wounding dozens and heightening tensions after Israel quickly blamed Iran. Josh Mitnick has details on The News Hub. Photo: AFP/GettyImages.
No group claimed responsibility and the nationality of the bomber was still unknown, Bulgarian authorities said.
Bulgarian authorities released footage of the person suspected of carrying out the bombing, which showed a lanky, long-haired man clad in a T-shirt, plaid shorts and white sneakers walking in the airport terminal. He had a large backpack on his back and had another bag in front.
Mr. Tsvetanov, the interior minister, said the suspect's fingerprints had been taken, as well as DNA samples, in an effort to establish his identity.
Israeli officials accused Iran of orchestrating the bombing along with its ally, the Lebanon-based Shiite militant group Hezbollah. Israel said the attack is part of a series of other plots targeting Israelis around the world in recent months. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged to respond forcefully.
Iranian state TV denied Iranian involvement, saying Israel's allegations were "ridiculous." Hezbollah also denied involvement.
"The direct perpetrators are Hezbollah and, of course, Iranian sponsorship is above them all the time," Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Thursday. "Israel will do all it can to find those responsible and punish them, both those who carried it out directly and those who dispatched them and mete out punishment."
European Pressphoto AgencySmoke billowed from the scene of the explosion, and several buses and cars at the airport parking lot were on fire near the bus.
Israel's deputy foreign minister, Danny Ayalon, said the government was preparing to submit a formal complaint to the United Nations against Iran and Hezbollah for their alleged involvement.
In the hours after the bombing Wednesday, Mr. Netanyahu placed the blame squarely on Tehran. "All signs point to Iran," Mr. Netanyahu said Wednesday. "Just in the past few months, we have seen attempts by Iran to harm Israelis in Thailand, India, Georgia, Kenya, Cyprus and more. This is an Iranian terror attack that is spreading across the world."
U.S. officials have said they suspect Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps was behind plots uncovered in Cyprus and Kenya recently, saying Iran is retaliating for the assassination of Iranian nuclear scientists, which Iran blames on Israel, as well as for tightening Western sanctions on the country.
Wednesday's bombing raised tensions across the Middle East, amid escalating fighting in Syria and a standoff between Iran and the West over Iran's nuclear program.
Bulgarian authorities said they have stepped up security in Burgas, a beach resort area that has become popular recently with Israeli visitors and are cooperating with U.S. and Israeli officials as they investigate the bombing.
The bomber struck as tourists, recently arrived by plane from Tel Aviv, boarded buses that were to ferry them to hotels at about 5:30 p.m. local time. In addition to those killed, more than 30 people were wounded.
Write to Gordon Fairclough at [email protected]