Report: Burgas bomber was Algerian

Bulgarian daily Presa reports that the man who blew up an Israeli tourist bus in Bulgaria in July 2012 was Algerian and trained in camps in South Lebanon • Bulgaria has said that Hezbollah was behind the attack, in which five Israelis were killed.

Reuters and Israel Hayom Staff

The scene of the July 2012 attack in Burgas | Photo credit: AP

The man who blew up a bus at the airport in the Bulgarian Black Sea resort city of Burgas in 2012, killing five Israeli tourists, was of Algerian origin and trained in camps in South Lebanon, the Bulgarian daily Presa said, quoting sources familiar with the investigation.

Bulgaria has said the Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah was behind the attack. The European Union last July put the group's armed wing on its terrorism blacklist over the incident. Hezbollah denies any involvement.

The EU country has named two men of Lebanese origin as suspected accomplices of the bomber, who also died in the attack.

"The assailant was born in Algeria, lived in Morocco, and was trained in camps in South Lebanon. He also studied at a Beirut university with the other two suspects," the newspaper said, quoting sources who declined to be named.

The Balkan country has identified the suspects as 32-year-old Meliad Farah, also known as Hussein Hussein, an Australian citizen, and 25-year-old Hassan El Hajj Hassan, a Canadian citizen, both of Lebanese origin.

The Bulgarian Prosecutor's Office, which is preparing an indictment for the attack, declined to comment.

Bulgarian Prosecutor-General Sotir Tsatsarov said last Friday there is new information on the bomber, which is likely to extend the investigation into the attack.