Smoke rises over Bulgaria's Burgas Airport after an explosion on a bus carrying Israeli tourists on Wednesday, July 18. At least six are dead. 
A police officer is seen near destroyed buses after the explosion. 
Police officers gather outside Bugaria's Burgas Airport on the Black Sea coast. 
Bystanders react to the explosion. Key Israeli politicians have pointed to Iran as the likely instigator. 
A police officer with a search dog examines buses for explosives. 
Bulgarian medics unload a wounded woman from an ambulance at a hospital. 
President Rosen Plevneliev, center, walks near the site of the explosion. Bulgaria will ask the U.N. Security Council to condemn the attack. - Death toll reaches eight, including the suicide attacker, Bulgaria says
- A suicide bomber is identified on a video camera, the ministry says
- Israeli intelligence minister says there are "very good indications" Iran is involved
- U.S. President Barack Obama condemns "barbaric" attack
(CNN) -- A bombing on a bus with Israeli tourists in Bulgaria was likely carried out by a suicide attacker, the nation's interior minister said Thursday.
The attack occurred Wednesday in a parking lot outside Burgas Airport in Bulgaria.
"From what we could see on the video cameras ... we identified a person who served as a suicide bomber in this terror attack," Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov told Bulgarian National TV.
Another person died from the blast overnight, he said, bringing the death toll to eight. The dead are six Israelis, a Bulgarian bus driver and the suicide bomber.
Thirty-two people remain hospitalized.
Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Wednesday that the bombing was "clearly a terrorist attack."
The attack was probably initiated by a group under the auspices of "either Iran or other radical Muslim groups," according to Barak, who cited Hezbollah and Hamas as likely suspects.
Powerful explosion rips through bus "We are in a continued fight against them. We are determined to identify who sent them, who executed (the attack) and to settle the account," Barak said.
'We presume this is a terrorist attack' The bus was scheduled to carry about 47 passengers to a resort. Bulgaria is a popular destination for Israelis.
Black smoke fills sky after bus bombing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pointed to Iran, saying it has been behind recent attempted attacks on Israelis in Thailand, India and Georgia, among others. Key Israeli politicians pointed to Iran as the likely instigator, but Israel's U.S. Embassy acknowledged there was no proof.
'We presume this is a terrorist attack' The Iranian government had no immediate comment on the incident.
Read Netanyahu's full statement
Security expert Ivan Boyadjiev told Bulgarian National Television that Israel had warned several months ago of the possibility of an attack on Israelis in Bulgaria.
Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev said he met the head of Mossad, Israel's intelligence service, about two months ago.
"If we'd received any kind of information about this, it would have been taken very seriously," he told reporters. "The fact that such an attack was carried out here and now should not be interpreted as to say that Bulgaria is not a safe country for tourists."
U.S. President Barack Obama condemned what he called a "barbaric terrorist attack."
"As Israel has tragically once more been a target of terrorism, the United States reaffirms our unshakeable commitment to Israel's security, and our deep friendship and solidarity with the Israeli people," said Obama, who called Netanyahu to express his condolences.
Oren Katz, who was with his wife and three children on a bus near the one that blew up, described a bloody scene.
"The moment we got on (the bus), we heard a very loud explosion. It was the third bus next to us. Everyone started running in all directions," he said.
The explosion came on the 18th anniversary of an attack on a Jewish community center in the Argentinian capital, Buenos Aires, in which 85 people were killed.
Argentina's top prosecutor last year blamed Iran for the 1994 attack, which also wounded about 300 people. Israel also holds Iran responsible for the attack; Tehran has denied any connection to the bombing, which it has condemned.
Tension between Iran and Israel has increased over the past year.
Iran hanged a man convicted of killing one of its nuclear scientists, state-run Press TV reported in May.
Majid Jamali Fashi was convicted of the January 2010 killing of an Iranian university professor and a nuclear scientist. He was also convicted of spying. Prosecutors accused him of working for the Mossad and said he was paid $120,000 by Israel to carry out the hit.
Israel typically does not comment on such claims.
Iran's efforts to build a nuclear program have unnerved many world leaders, resulting in condemnation and sanctions from the United Nations. Tehran insists the program is for peaceful purposes.
Israel, which is believed to have its own nuclear arsenal and has expressed alarm over Tehran's hostility toward the Jewish state, has said it may attack Iran to try to stop the country from developing nuclear weapons.
CNN's Guy Azriel, Raja Razek, Stephanie Halasz, Ralitsa Vassileva, Jill Dougherty, and Jennifer Deaton contributed to this report.
0 comments:
Post a Comment