Bulgaria attackHezbollah suicide bomber kills Israeli tourists in Bulgaria
A Hezbollah-trained suicide bomber, carrying a forged Michigan-issued driver’s license, blew himself up in a bus carrying Israeli tourists, killing seven and injuring thirty-four; the attack appears to be part of a campaign launched by Iran several months ago in retaliation for the killing of Iranian nuclear scientists by the Israeli Mossad; Iranian intelligence operatives have recently attempted attacks on Israeli targets in India, Thailand, Azerbaijan, Kenya, and Cyprus
Remains of suicide-bombed bus in Bulgaria // Source: boon.hu
A Hezbollah-trained suicide bomber carrying forged Michigan-issued driver’s license blew himself up yesterday in a bus carrying Israeli tourists in Bulgaria, killing seven and injuring thirty-four.
The killing appears to be part of a campaign launched by Iran several months ago in retaliation for the killing of Iranian nuclear scientists by the Israeli Mossad. Iranian intelligence operatives have recently attempted attacks on Israeli targets in India, Thailand, Azerbaijan, Kenya, and Cyprus. In a couple of thee cases, Iran was embarrassed when the perpetrators were caught and were easily linked to Iran’s intelligence services. The use of a Hezbollah member allows Iran a measure of deniability.
Iran has tightened its control of the Lebanese Shi’a group after Hezbollah, in the summer of 2006, acted without Iranian permission when it kidnapped two Israeli soldiers patrolling the Israel-Lebanon border. Israel retaliated forcefully, and the Israel-Hezbollah was ensued. Since then Hezbollah is no longer allowed to undertake operations without coordination with Iran.
Yesterday’s attack in Bulgaria came on the 18th anniversary of a deadly 1994 attack by Iranian intelligence agents on a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Eighty-five people were killed in the attack and more than 250 wounded. The attack was an Iranian retaliation for the 1992 killing by Israel of Hezbollah leader Abbas Mussawi.
The Argentine prosecution has been investigating former president Carlos Menem, who held power from 1989 to 1999, for covering up the Iranian involvement in the attack. On 31 March 2012 he was ordered to stand trial for obstruction of justice.
Menem’s political career was accompanied by a series of corruption and embezzlement scandals from the start. In 2008 it was revealed that Menem received about $2 million in bribes from Siemens in exchange for awarding the Argentine national ID card and passport production contract to Siemens. The Argentine prosecution, in ordering Menem to stand trial, says that he was paid handsomely by Iran to cover-up Iran’s involvement in the attack on Jews in Argentina.
