The Bulgarian Interior Ministry on Thursday released images of a second man
linked to a July 18 suicide bombing in Burgas that killed five Israeli tourists
and a Bulgarian bus driver. The images were accompanied by a request to the
general public for information on the suspected terrorist.
The Bulgarian
ministry said that there was evidence the man, who may have used a number of
aliases during the planning of the attack, was using a false drivers license
from the US state of Michigan.
The ministry provided front and back
photos of the license, which was registered to “Ralph William Rico” from Grand
Rapids, Michigan. The ministry also released a computer-generated portrait of the
man.
The ministry did not provide detailed information on how the man was
connected to the terrorist attack.
A joint Bulgarian-Israeli
investigation is under way to identify the accomplices of the suicide bomber,
who died in the attack. Earlier this month, Bulgaria released a
computer-generated image of the face of the suicide bomber, verified to 95
percent accuracy, which they hoped would help with the ongoing
investigation.
Israel has said Hezbollah and Iran are responsible for the
attack. Iran denied the allegation, though its President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
later hinted that his country was behind it.
“They have indeed succeeded
in inflicting blows upon us more than once, but have been rewarded with a far
stronger response,” Ahmadinejad said last month.
A few days later, Iran’s
ambassador to the United Nations claimed Israel was behind the
bombing.
Israeli political and military leaders said a response to the
terrorist attack would come at a time of Israel’s choosing, suggesting a
possible covert strike against those behind the atrocity.
Iranian Foreign
Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said Wednesday that his country is against
any form of terrorism worldwide in response to accusations by British Prime
Minister David Cameron that Tehran was involved in the terrorist attack in
Burgas.
“These claims are mostly made due to the internal problems of the
Zionist regime,” Mehmanparast said, according to Iranian news channel Press TV.