site.btaFourth Anniversary of Bourgas Bus Bombing Observed amid Tight Security

Fourth Anniversary of Bourgas Bus Bombing Observed amid Tight Security

Bourgas, on the Black Sea, July 19 (BTA) - The fourth anniversary of the 2012 Bourgas bus bombing was observed here Monday amid tight security. The bombing of a bus with Israeli tourists in the parking lot of the Bourgas Sarafovo airport killed five Israelis and their Bulgarian bus driver.

There were snipers and police to take care of security during the Monday observance.

The commemorative event started with a minute of silence at a monument built close to the location of the bombing.

Addressing the gathering, the parents of one of the victims, 26-year-old Maor Harush, said they re-live every day what happened at the Bourgas airport and the pain does not subside.

The ceremony was attended by Interior Ministry Chief Secretary Georgi Kostov, Bourgas Mayor Dimiter Nikolov and Israeli Ambassador Irit Lillian. Ambassador Lillian said that the pictures from the tragic event have not paled over the years. She urged the international community to stand up against all ideologies which preach aggression and violence.

Commissioner Georgi Kostov thanked the foreign special services which have helped in the investigation of the bombing.

He said the attack has led the Bulgarian authorities to re-think the national security system.

On July 15, the prosecuting magistracy submitted indicted two foreign nationals for the bus bombing: Meliad Farah, a Lebanese national with an Australian passport, and Hassan el-Hajj Hassan, also a national of Lebanon and holder of a Canadian passport. The two will be tried in absentia as they remain at large.