Burgas bombing that killed five Israeli tourists and Bulgarian bus driver remembered
The third annivesary of the terrorist bombing that killed five Israeli tourists and a Bulgarian bus driver at Burgas Airport was marked Monday during a ceremony at the airport.
On July 18, 2013 a suicide bomber, a 24-year-old Lebanese-born man with dual French-Lebanese citizenship, Mohamad Hassan El-Husseini, blew himself up on a passenger bus full of tourists which was parked at the airport.
Israel has accused the Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah of being responsible for the attack. Bulgaria also later said that evidence pointed toward Hezbollah's culpability.
Two accomplices of the suicide bomber were identified, Meliad Farah, 32, an Australian citizen, and Hassan El Hajj Hassan, 25, who has Canadian citizenship.
The authorities have not managed to find the two accomplices. The search for the suspects continues on an international scale, including with the help of Interpol.
Last week, the deadline for the completion of the investigation of the bus bombing has been extended to August 25, according to a media statement of the Burgas District Prosecutor’s Office.
Israel has accused the Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah of being responsible for the attack. Bulgaria also later said that evidence pointed toward Hezbollah's culpability.
A year after the bombing, the European Union put Hezbollah's armed wing on its terrorism blacklist.
Yaakov Preiss, whose son Elior was killed in the attack, spoke at Monday's ceremony, calling on Europeans to "stop being naive."
"Terrorist organizations do not think like you," Preiss said. "Agitators use democracy to incite. This freedom of speech will cause you to lose your children in terrorist attacks.’’
Monday's ceremony was attended by Israel’s ambassador to Bulgaria Shaul Kamisa-Razand
Last week, the deadline for the completion of the investigation of the bombing has been extended to August 25, according to the Burgas District Prosecutor’s Office.
by Maud Swinnen