Israeli tourists killed in bus bombing in Bulgaria

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: “All the signs lead to Iran. Over the past few months we have seen Iranian attempts to attack Israelis in Thailand, India, Georgia, Kenya, Cyprus and other places.

“This is an Iranian terror attack that is spreading throughout the entire world. Israel will react powerfully against Iranian terror.”

Iran has not responded to Mr Netanyahu’s comments.

Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak said: “Our defence forces will act to track down the perpetrators and masterminds behind this act of terrorism.”

Deliberate

The blast happened at Sarafovo Airport in the coastal city of Burgas and as many as seven people are thought to have died in what the Bulgarian interior minister described as a deliberate attack.

There are reports a suicide bomber boarded the bus and detonated a device. Another theory is that explosives were concealed in the bus before being detonated.

An Israeli witness said in an interview with Israeli army radio that the explosion was probably caused by a suicide bomber at the entrance of the bus.

Tourists

The bus is believed to have been carrying 40 Israeli tourists. Thirty people are reported to have been injured and have been taken to hospital.

The Israelis had just arrived in Burgas from Tel Aviv and were on their way to Bulgaria’s largest Black Sea resort, Sunny Beach.

The area around the airport has been closed off and there are several ambulances and fire engines on the site. Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev is visiting the airport.

The London-based Jewish Chronicle said Burgas was popular with Israeli tourists, particularly teenagers on their summer holidays.

Security

Before the explosion, Israel had asked Bulgaria to boost security to protect its citizens because of fears that Hezbollah would try to target them to coincide with the fourth anniversary of the death of Hezbollah military commander Imad Mughniyeh, which has been attributed to the Israeli spy agency Mossad.

Hezbollah denied involvement in the bombing.

Wednesday is also the 18th anniversary of the bombing of a Jewish community centre in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in which 85 people were killed. Mr Netanyahu referred to the incident on Tuesday and linked Iran to the attack,

In January, a plot to bomb Israeli tourists on a bus taking them to a Bulgarian ski resort was foiled. Israeli media say a more recent bombing in the capital Sofia was disrupted when the Bulgarian security services located suitcases with explosives inside that were destined for buses carrying Israelis to resorts.