| 2012 Burgas bus bombing | |
|---|---|
| Part of the Iran–Israel proxy conflict | |
 Location of the bombing (near Burgas Airport) | |
  Burgas Airport The location of Burgas Airport in Bulgaria | |
| Location | Burgas Airport, Burgas, Bulgaria |
| Coordinates | 42°34′00″N 27°31′13″E / 42.56667°N 27.52028°E |
| Date | 18 July 2012 17:23 pm (UTC+3) |
| Target | Israeli-operated buses |
Attack type | Suicide bombing |
| Weapons | Unknown explosive device |
| Deaths | 6 civilians (+1 bomber) |
| Injured | 32 civilians |
| Perpetrator | Mohamad Hassan El-Husseini[1] |
The 2012 Burgas bus bombing was a terrorist[2] attack carried out by a suicide bomber[3] on a passenger bus transporting Israeli tourists at the Burgas Airport in Burgas, Bulgaria,[4] on 18 July 2012. The bus was carrying 42 Israelis, mainly youths,[5] from the airport to their hotels, after arriving on a flight from Tel Aviv. The explosion killed the Bulgarian bus driver and five Israelis[6] and injured 32 Israelis, resulting in international condemnation of the bombing.
In February 2013, Tsvetan Tsvetanov, the Bulgarian Interior Minister, said there was "well-grounded" evidence that Hezbollah was behind the attack.[7] Tsvetanov stated that the two suspects had Canadian and Australian passports and lived in Lebanon.[8] According to the Europol, forensic evidence and intelligence sources all point to Hezbollah's involvement in the blast. Both Iran and Hezbollah have denied any involvement.[8] On 5 June 2013, new Bulgarian Foreign Affairs Minister Kristian Vigenin stated that: "There is no conclusive evidence for the implication of Hezbollah in the July 2012 bombing in Burgas. The authorities continue to gather evidence."[9] However, two weeks later a Bulgarian representative to the European Union revealed that investigators discovered new evidence that implicates Hezbollah operatives were connected to the terrorist attacks.[7] Investigators found that the forged documents used by the perpetrators of the attack were facilitated by a man with ties to Hezbollah.[7] In July 2013, the newly appointed Bulgarian Interior Minister Tsvetlin Yovchev stated: "there are clear signs that say Hezbollah is behind the Burgas bombing."[10]
On 25 July 2013, the Bulgarian Interior Ministry released photographs of two Hezbollah operatives suspected in the bombing: Australian citizen Malid Farah (also known as "Hussein Hussein"), and Canadian citizen Hassan al-Haj.[11] In 2013, and partly in response to the bombing, the EU unanimously voted to list the military branch of Hezbollah as a terrorist organization.[12]
On 18 July 2014, Bulgaria announced that they identified the bomber as a dual Lebanese-French citizen named Mohamad Hassan El-Husseini.[1]
- ^ a b "Burgas attack: Bulgaria names anti-Israeli bomber". BBC News. 18 July 2014.
- ^ Barak Ravid; Zohar Blumenkrantz; Natasha Mozgovaya, Haaretz. "7 reported killed in terror attack against Israelis in Bulgaria". Haaretz. Retrieved 20 July 2012.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
fakeUSIDwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ משרד החוץ: מניין ההרוגים ירד לשבעה, בהם 6 ישראלים (in Hebrew). Ynet!. 19 July 2012. Retrieved 19 July 2012.
- ^ "Israel blames Iran for deadly attack on bus of Israeli youth visiting Bulgaria". New York Daily. Retrieved 20 July 2012.
- ^ "Атентатът в Бургас почерни и Юруково". Archived from the original on 21 July 2012. Retrieved 20 July 2012.
- ^ a b c "New evidence on Hezbollah Burgas". The Times of Israel. Archived from the original on 28 June 2013. Retrieved 21 June 2013.
- ^ a b "Hezbollah suspected in Bulgaria bus bombing". Al Jazeera. 5 February 2013. Retrieved 6 February 2013.
- ^ Bulgaria: No Conclusive Hezbollah Link for Burgas Bombing – Novinite.com – Sofia News Agency
- ^ Hezbollah behind bombings
- ^ Photos of Burgas attack suspects released – Ynetnews (25 July 2013)
- ^ Kanter, James; Rudoren, Jodi (22 July 2013). "European Union Adds Military Wing of Hezbollah to List of Terrorist Organizations". The New York Times. Retrieved 6 August 2017.