Australian linked to Bulgaria bombing

AN Australian man with links to the terrorist organisation Hezbollah has been implicated in last year’s terrorist attack in Bulgaria that killed six people, including five Israelis.

According to Bulgaria’s Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov, an arrest warrant has been issued for a man in relation with the July 16 terror attack. It is understood the man, who entered Bulgaria using a genuine Australian passport, is a dual Lebanese/Australian citizen, and was paid by Hezbollah to carry out the attack.

Following a six-hour Cabinet meeting, Tsvetanov told reporters on Tuesday that Hezbollah financed the bomb attack and that a second suspected terrorist held a Canadian passport.

Unveiling the results of the six-month inquiry in Sofia, Tsvetanov said: “We have established that the two were members of the militant wing of Hezbollah,” adding: “There is data showing the financing and connection between Hezbollah and the two suspects.”

The pair had lived in Lebanon since 2006 and 2010 respectively, the AFP news agency quoted Tsvetanov as saying.

According to some reports the Australian man planted the bomb on board the tour bus full of Israelis.

Foreign Minister Bob Carr said  yesterday Australia was working with Bulgarian authorities to apprehend the man.

“The Bulgarian Government has indicated that one person of interest in the matter may be an Australian passport holder and that there is a ‘justified assumption’ that two of the people involved belong to the military wing of the terrorist group Hezbollah,” Carr said.

“The Australian government condemns all acts of political violence and terrorism and welcomes today’s evidence of progress in this investigation. Such attacks on innocent civilians are reprehensible in the extreme.

Israel has blamed both Hezbollah and Iran for the bombing, which also killed the Bulgarian bus driver. Iran has denied responsibility and accused Israel of staging the attack.

Thanking the Bulgarian authorities for their investigation, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, “It is further corroboration of what we know, that Iran and Hezbollah are together building a worldwide terrorist network.

“It’s time that the international community branded Hezbollah for the terrorist organisation that they are,” Netanyahu said.

The Obama administration echoed Netanyahu’s sentiment. “We call on our European partners, as well as other members of the international community, to take proactive action,” said national security adviser John Brennan.

With agencies.

ADAM KAMIEN

A computer generated image of the Australian Hezbollah suspect involved in the bombing in Bulgaria that left five Israeli tourists dead.