Bulgaria bomber had accomplices, may have entered from Schengen passport-free area

Investigators have been unable to match fingerprints or DNA samples taken from the alleged bomber (C), who also died in the explosion, with databases around the world.

 

The suicide bomber who killed six people including five Israelis had accomplices and may have entered Bulgaria from Europe’s Schengen passport-free area, Prime Minister Boyko Borisov said Tuesday.

“It might turn out he came from a Schengen member state. This is a lead we are checking at the moment with several other EU partner services,” Borisov said, calling the bomber and his suspected accomplices behind last Wednesday’s blast at Burgas airport “extremely experienced”.

“From what we can see, they came a month in advance,” Borisov said.

“They changed hire car again and again. They stayed in different cities so that they would not be seen together -- no camera footage shows more than one person from the ones we are looking for.”

“These are extremely experienced people who observed absolute secrecy,” he added after talks with U.S President Barak Obama’s Assistant for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism, John Brennan, in Sofia.

Borisov also said that investigators have been unable to match fingerprints or DNA samples taken from the bomber, who also died in the explosion, with databases around the world.

“We do not know categorically his identity,” the premier said, adding however: “We know when he arrived, the presumed flight and where it came from”.

Bulgaria is a member of the European Union but is not part of the borderless Schengen travel area formed by 22 of the 27 EU states.

Israel blames Iran for the bombing and has been cooperating with Bulgarian authorities in the investigation. Iran has denied involvement.

On Monday Israeli Tourism Minister Stas Misezhnikov traveled to Bulgaria, in a visit he said was aimed at encouraging continued Israeli tourism to the country, even after the deadly attack.