The lead investigator into last July's bus bombing in Burgas, Bulgaria which killed six people, including five Israeli tourists, was fired from her position, according to a Monday report by Bulgaria's state-run BTA news agency, citing the Burgas District Prosecution Office.
The removal reportedly came after Stanelia Karadzhova revealed to the media sensitive information about the investigation without clearing her statement with a supervising prosecutor.
Last Thursday, Bulgaria announced that it had issued an international arrest warrant for an accomplice to the terrorist who carried out the deadly bomb attack. The development meant that for the first time in the investigation, the real identity of a suspect had surfaced.
“The investigation has evidence for the implication of three persons,” Karadzhova told the 24 Hours newspaper in an interview last week, 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.
Israel said Iran and Hezbollah jointly carried out the attack.