Bulgaria announced on Thursday that it has issued an international arrest
warrant for an accomplice to the terrorist who carried out a deadly bomb attack
in July on Israeli tourists in the resort city of Burgas.
The bombing
killed five Israelis and a Bulgarian tour bus driver, in addition to the
attacker.
The development meant that for the first time in the
investigation, the real identity of a suspect has surfaced, since until now
there had been only falsified documents for the bomber and accomplice, AFP
reported.
The bomber’s remains were recovered from the scene in the hours
after the attack.
Bulgarian police investigators are keeping details
about the accomplice’s identity and origins – both of which they say are known
to them – out of the public domain for the time being.
“The investigation
has evidence for the implication of three persons,” Stanelia Karadzhova, head of
the regional investigation unit in Burgas, told the 24 Hours newspaper in an
interview, according to AFP. “The identity of one of them has already been
established.”
Karadzhova said the terror suspects had never been seen together and did not travel with cellphones or
laptops, leaving open the question of how they remained in touch. Investigators
had linked them through their falsified documents and their similar, basic
lifestyle, she added.
The chief investigator described their way of life
as “very ordered and simple, like in the army, which suggests they had the same
type of training.”
According to new evidence, the main attacker did not
intend to die in the attack, Karadzhova said. He either detonated the explosives
by pressing a button or they were remotely set off by a second party during a
chaotic moment, she added.
According to the Bulgarian news agency
Novintine, the bomber went under the alias of Jacque Felipe Martin, and one of
his accomplices used the name Ralph Willima Rico. Both had fake documents from
the US state of Michigan.
The bomb blast tore through the bus soon after
Israeli passengers had boarded. It was supposed to ferry them from Burgas
Airport to hotels.
Israel said Iran and Hezbollah jointly carried out the
attack.
Iran’s Quds force, together with Hezbollah and other proxies and
middlemen, are involved in an effort to pull off additional terror attacks,
according to security evaluations.
In September, Israel asked security
forces around the world to increase protection for Israeli
tourists.
“We’ve identified a continuation of the Iranian global campaign
to launch terror attacks on Israelis,” a defense source said last year. “The
campaign is being led by Iran, with Hezbollah acting as its proxy.” •