“Israel has previously warned Bulgaria of the threat posed by Hizbollah.”
“Israelis killed in Bulgaria bus suicide bombing,” by Marcus Dysch for The JC, July 18 (thanks to David):
The Israeli Foreign Ministry has confirmed a number of Israelis have been killed in an explosion on a bus carrying tourists in Bulgaria.
It is believed a suicide bomber boarded the bus outside the Sarafovo airport and immediately detonated his bomb. The Bulgarian Interior Ministy confirmed the explosion had been a terrorist attack.
Local media in the resort of Burgas claim the bus was packed with Israelis, possibly members of a young basketball team on their way to a training camp.
Reports suggest as many as seven people have been killed. At least 18 people have arrived at a local hospital to be treated for their injuries, while the airport has been closed in the wake of the attack. It is feared a pregnant woman was among those injured.
The explosion is thought to have occurred at around 6pm local time (4pm BST). A flight from Tel Aviv had arrived around one hour earlier. All flights from Israel to Bulgaria have now been suspended.
The bus is believed to have been an airport shuttle carrying the holidaymakers. Around 40 people were thoguht to be on the bus.
Cypriot authorites last week arrested a Swedish national believed to be a Hizbollah member suspected of planning an attack on Israelis.
Burgas is the second largest resort on the country’s Black Sea coast. It is popular with Israeli tourists and is home to a Chabad centre. Israeli teens are known to flock to the resort for their summer holidays.
Israel has previously warned Bulgaria of the threat posed by Hizbollah. Bulgaria has a Jewish community of around 7,000.
In January a suspicious package was found on a bus carrying Israeli tourists from Turkey to Bulgaria, leading Israel to request additional security for its tourists travelling in the country, according to reports at the time in the Bulgarian press.
The Bulgaria attack coincides with the 18th anniversary of the fatal bombing of a Jewish community centre in Buenos Aires, Argentina, which killed 85 people and wounded hundreds….