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Bulgaria Names Alleged 2012 Bus Bombers

Suspects linked to Hezbollah’s military wing, Interior Ministry says

by
Romy Zipken
July 26, 2013
Investigators examine the site where two busses exploded on April 26, 2013 as they re-enact the July 2012 Burgas airport bus bombing that killed five Israeli tourists near the town of Ihtiman in an effort to resolve some of the many still unanswered questions.(NIKOLAY DOYCHINOV/AFP/Getty Images)
Investigators examine the site where two busses exploded on April 26, 2013 as they re-enact the July 2012 Burgas airport bus bombing that killed five Israeli tourists near the town of Ihtiman in an effort to resolve some of the many still unanswered questions.(NIKOLAY DOYCHINOV/AFP/Getty Images)

Suspects in the 2012 Burgas bus bombing, which killed five Israelis and the bus driver, injuring 32 others, were identified on Thursday by Bulgaria’s Interior Ministry, the Jerusalem Post reports.

The two suspects behind the deadly attack were identified as 32-year-old Australian citizen Meliad Farah, also known as Hussein Hussein, and 25-year old Canadian Citizen Hassan El Hajj Hassan.

The suspects are said to currently be living in Lebanon, as they both hold Lebanese citizenship as well. But, according to a source quoted in the article, Lebanese authorities “have a lousy record in deporting wanted individuals to the Eastern European country.” The two suspects used fake names when they checked into hotels and rented cars in the area before the attack, the Jewish Press reports.

Both men were spotted in late June and until mid-July last year in several regions in Bulgaria, including the Sunny Beach resort area, where the used fake identities to register at hotels under the aliases of Brian Jeremiah Jameson, Jacque Felipe Martin and Ralph William Rico.

Bulgarian authorities had previously announced evidence connecting Hezbollah with the attack, the Sofia Globe reports.

In early 2013, Bulgaria announced that the investigation that it led with international co-operation had established that the bombing was the work of people linked to Hezbollah’s military wing.

On Monday, the EU listed Hezbollah’s military wing as a terrorist organization.

Romy Zipken is a writer and editor at Jewcy. Her Twitter feed is @RomyZipken.