Bulgaria Transfers 2012 Bus Bomb Case to Burgas Amid New Evidence

Bulgaria’s chief prosecutor Sotir Tsatsarov said on Friday that the authorities transferred the investigation of the 2012 terrorist attack on a tourist bus to Burgas, the Black Sea resort where five Israelis and their Bulgarian bus driver were murdered.

Tsatsarov said again on Friday that the third suspect – the alleged bomber who died during the attack has been identified in February.

Bulgaria’s government says two Hezbollah members are wanted as suspects in the attack. Both men are in Lebanon and have been identified. Bulgaria has filed extradition requests to the Lebanese government.

According to Bulgarian National Radio, Tsatsarov declined to disclose more specifics about the identity of the third individual. The prosecutor could not say when the indictment would be field.

The court case was slated to begin in February or early March but has been delayed because of the processing of new evidence.

According to a Sofia News Agency report that appears to be based on the Bulgarian National Radio report, ”Tsatsarov explained that a lot of effort went to processing data supplied by partnering investigative services and through mechanisms for international legal assistance.”

A spokeswoman for Israel’s delegation in Sofia told The Jerusalem Post in February, “The Israeli Embassy welcomes everybody who has given information about the identity of the involved terrorists in the attack in Burgas. The exposure of the information by the chief prosecutor of Bulgaria only indicates the determination of the investigation into the terrorists’ attacks in Burgas.”

Benjamin Weinthal reports on religioius minorities in the Middle East for The Jerusalem Post and is a fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.