Bulgaria Marks 1 Year Since Burgas Terror Act

Crime | July 18, 2013, Thursday // 08:14
Bulgaria Marks 1 Year Since Burgas Terror Act: Bulgaria Marks 1 Year Since Burgas Terror Act The July 2012 bus bombing at the Sarafovo Airport in Burgas killed seven, including five Israeli tourists, the Bulgarian bus driver and the alleged suicide bomber. Photo by BGNES

Bulgaria is marking Thursday the one year anniversary of the terror act in Burgas.

On July 18, 2012, a bus bombing at the Sarafovo airport of the Black Sea city of Burgas killed six Israeli tourists, their Bulgarian bus driver, Mustafa Kiosov, and the bomber.

A pregnant woman was among the fatalities. 35 people sustained injuries.

There will be a solemn ceremony at Sarafovo, the Israeli Embassy in Sofia informs. It will be held at 5 pm Thursday evening. The memorial in homage to the victims will be officially inaugurated as well.

Family members, friends and relatives will arrive from Israel along with the General Director of the Israeli Red Shield of David and the Director of the "Ihilov" hospital in Tel Aviv. The ceremony will be attended also by the Israeli Ambassador, diplomats, Bulgarian politicians, ministers and representatives of the Israeli community and business in Bulgaria.

A ceremony to thank people and organizations that played key roles with assistance during and after the tragedy is planned for 8 pm at the Burgas Culture Center. It is expected that Burgas will receive from the Red Shield of David a modern ambulance in sign of gratitude.

The investigation of the terror attack is still ongoing.

It was reported that with the help of Europol three of the four suspects have been identified. They entered Bulgaria two and a half weeks before the incident with fake ID documents.

The initial lead that the attack was perpetrated by a suicide bomber was replaced by one that he was blown remotely. The explosives have been in his backpack and he might have been unaware of the sinister plan.

On Tuesday, Israeli media quoted high ranking Israeli Foreign Ministry officials in saying the EU's Foreign Ministers are likely to add Hezbollah's military wing to the body's list of designated terror organizations.

The officials have said Britain and the United States are pressing several EU countries that are reluctant to back such a move.

Deputy Foreign Minister Zeev Elkin on Sunday convened a special meeting at the Foreign Ministry to discuss efforts to include Hezbollah on the EU's list of terrorist groups. One senior Foreign Ministry official said EU institutions are expected to conduct several meetings on the matter in the coming days.

For the designation to be made, a unanimous vote of all 27 member states is required.

In February 2013, Bulgaria's then-Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov in the Cabinet of the Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria party, GERB, suggested that the evidence collected by the investigating authorities led to a "reasonable assumption" about the involvement of the Lebanese militant group in last year's terror attack at the Burgas airport.

Bulgaria's new Foreign Minister Kristian Vigenin recently refuted reports that the country was trying to shift blame for the Burgas terror attack from Hezbollah.

Vigenin said on June 5 that "the evidence is not categorical" that Hezbollah planned the attack. International media then commented that the Balkan country had "backed away from charges" that the Shi'ite Muslim militant group had carried out the attack.

International media then commented that the Balkan country had "backed away from charges" that the Shi'ite Muslim militant group had carried out the attack.

Announcing plans for reforms in the security sector at the beginning of June Yovchev and Chief Secretary Svetlozar Lazarov made clear the stance of the Ministry on the terror attack.

"There is no change in the Bulgarian stance on the act of terror in Sarafovo. My expert opinion, as I am acquainted with the conclusions and the facts, gathered up to now in the investigation, is that the announced stance of my colleagues is right and I support it," the Interior Minister stated.

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Tags: Bulgaria, Italy, evidence, Tsvetan Tsvetanov, terrorist, Burgas, Israeli, Kristian Vigenin, Hezbollah, terror attack, Burgas bus bombing, Tsvetlin Yovchev, Hezbollah, EU, Bulgaria, Israel, Burgas, terrorist

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