Radical Islamist Claims Burgas Terrorist Was His Disciple

A radical Islamic leader has claimed that the suicide bomber who killed five Israeli citizens and a Bulgarian bus driver in the city of Burgas in July was his disciple. Omar Bakri, the founder of the group ‘Al Muhadzhirun’ who currently lives in Lebanon after leaving Britain following the attacks at the London Underground, made the comments in an interview for the Centre for Middle East studies, published in a Bulgarian daily. The interview was translated into English by NewEurope online.

Bakri said he was certain that the man in the footage released by the Bulgarian interior ministry was indeed Mehdi Ghezali, a Swedish citizen who has previously been a Guantanamo inmate.

In July, Bulgarian authorities and their Swedish colleagues refuted the version of Gezali’s participation in the terrorist attack and stuck to the version that the perpetrator was Jacque Felipe Martin, aged 25, from the state of Michigan.
The Bulgarian government appealed to Interpol to assist the national authorities in their investigation of the attack, noted NewEurope online. In August, the authorities in Bulgaria and Interpol jointly released images of a suspected accomplice to the terrorist who was believed to be of Middle Eastern origin. (continue reading...)