‘Bulgarian officials deny bomber is Mehdi Ghezali’

America’s ABC News on Thursday reported that Bulgarian officials denied Bulgarian news reports that the Burgas bomber was identified as Mehdi Ghezali. The Atlantic Wire also reported Swedish officials issuing a similar denial.

Earlier on Thursday Bulgarian media had named the suicide bomber who blew up a bus full of Israeli tourists, killing five Israelis and a local bus driver, in the Black Sea resort of Burgas on Wednesday as 36-year-old Ghezali.

The bomber reportedly arrived in Bulgaria five days before the bombing and arrived at the airport via taxi, Channel 2 reported. He was also reportedly given the bomb by someone else, but no further details were provided.

There was no independent confirmation of Ghezali’s identity, which surfaced in Bulgarian media reports on Thursday afternoon. The reports emerged soon after Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had publicly accused Hezbollah, directed by Iran, of responsibility for the bombing. The Prime Minister’s Office made no comment on the reports (...)