Bulgarian bus bomber was Swedish national – UPDATE

Mehdi Ghezali, bus bomber

Note: It appears the bomber was not Mehdi Ghezali. See the bottom of this post for updates and more details as they come in.

Bulgaria named the bomber of the Israeli tourist bus, who killed 7 people yesterday outside the airport in Burgas, as Mehdi Ghezali, a Swedish national with Finnish and Algerian origins and a history of Muslim extremist activity.

Ghezali was reportedly a Swedish citizen, with Algerian and Finnish origins. He had been held at the US’s Guantanamo Bay detainment camp on Cuba from 2002 to 2004, having previously studied at a  Muslim religious school and mosque in Britain, and traveled to Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, and Pakistan.

He was also reportedly among 12 foreigners captured trying to cross into Afghanistan in 2009.

Wow. Assuming this news is correct, is there a pattern emerging? Just last week theCypriot authorities arrested a Swedish national for plotting to attack Israeli tourists in Cyprus.

It is well known that Sweden has become quite hostile to Jews lately, but these attacks are taking the hostility to a whole new level.

UPDATE: Sweden is denying that Ghezali is the suicide bomber, as are the Bulgarian authorities themselves. In which case how did the name leak to the press in the first place?

I will update in this post if and when any new information arises.

UPDATE: The New York Times: US confirms Israel’s blaming of Hezbollah in bomb attack. (h/t @challahhuakbar).  See also Challah Hu Akbar‘s updated post for more details.

http://anneinpt.wordpress.com/2012/07/19/bulgarian-bus-bomber-was-swedish-national/