February 13, 2013

(JTA) — Bulgaria has turned over to Europol the names of the two Hezbollah-linked suspects in the bombing of an Israeli tour bus in Burgas.

The suspects’ names have not been made public, however. The identity of the bomber, who died in the blast, has not been firmly established.

Bulgarian Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov in a meeting Tuesday updated Europol’s director, Rob Wainwright, on the investigation, the ministry said in a statement. The statement also said the names of the suspects were included on the database of the European Union’s law enforcement agency to determine whether they have resided in any EU country and if other EU agencies have any information on them.

The Bulgarian government last week implicated the suspects in the July attack on a bus full of Israeli tourists. Tsvetanov also said that the Lebanon-based Hezbollah financed the bomb attack, which killed five Israeli tourists and their Bulgarian driver.

Bulgaria reportedly also has turned over a report on the bombing to Lebanon and asked the country’s authorities to arrest and extradite the suspects, who they believe are living in Lebanon, to Bulgaria. 

Both Hezbollah and Iran have denied involvement in the attack.

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