Bulgaria foils terror attack against Israelis

Israel worried terrorists planning to attack Israeli tourists overseas to mark assassination of Hezbollah's Mughniyeh.

By YAAKOV KATZ
Bulgarian police_311 (photo credit: Reuters)
Bulgarian police_311
(photo credit: Reuters)
A suspicious package found last week on a bus carrying Israeli tourists from Turkey to Bulgaria was the cause for Israel’s request to boost security over its citizens traveling in the country, according to reports in the Bulgarian press.
The Sofia News Agency Novinite quoted Dan Shenar, head of security at the Israeli Transportation Ministry, who confirmed he had requested the increased security. Bulgarian authorities have launched an investigation to determine what was inside the package and who placed it on the bus.
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“Two days ago I got in touch with my colleagues in Sofia and asked them to tighten security measures around buses carrying groups of Israeli tourists between airports and hotels or vacation houses. We are well aware that buses are a weak spot in regards to security,” Shenar was quoted as saying.
“This is so because there are excellent security conditions at airports, but the situation is not the same outside them. This is why we made these calls. As far as I understand, local services are collaborating with us.”
According to another report, the Bulgarian police has increased its presence at the country’s top winter resort called Bansko. Currently 50 policemen are patrolling the resort and another 80 are expected there by the end of the month, according to the report. The resort is frequented by Israelis.
Israel is concerned Hezbollah will try to attack Israelis overseas in the coming weeks and ahead of the fourth anniversary of the assassination of Hezbollah military commander Imad Mughniyeh, attributed to the Mossad.
Hezbollah is believed to be actively seeking revenge for the assassination, and over the years there have been reports of a number of plots that were thwarted including an attempt to bomb the Israeli embassy in Azerbaijan.
Israel recently asked Bulgaria, for example, to increase its security over Israeli tour groups in the capital city of Sofia. According to Sofia News Agency, a Hezbollah plot was recently uncovered by local security agencies, which warned Israel.
According to reports, Israel has asked Greek authorities to increase security for Israeli tourists in the country.