Update to bombing of Israeli bus in Bulgaria

ZAKA workers at the scene of the Israeli bus bombing in Bourgas, Bulgaria

It appears that the culprit of the terrible bomb attack on an Israeli tourist bus in Bourgas yesterday was indeed a suicide bomber, and not a suitcase bomb as originally thought. Meanwhile Israel is sending rescue teams to bring the dead and wounded home.

Israeli rescue teams flown to Bulgaria began evacuating wounded from the resort town of Bourgas Thursday morning, as reports emerged that the deadly attack on a bus of tourists was carried out by a man with a fake American passport.

The death toll in the bombing on a bus of Israelis at the airport in Bourgas rose to eight in the early hours of Thursday as one of the seriously injured victims succumbed to their wounds. Six of the dead are Israeli.

Two victims remain in serious condition at a hospital in the capital of Sofia. The rest of the 34 wounded are in a local hospital or still at the airport in Bourgas waiting to be flown home by Israeli rescue teams.

On Thursday morning, Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov said the attack was likely carried out by a suicide bomber who likely detonated as he boarded the bus. It was previously thought the bomb had been in a suitcase placed on the bus.

The suicide bomber is one of the eight dead, officials said.

The Jerusalem Post adds:

Initial reports suggested that the explosion was caused by a bomb placed in the luggage compartment of the bus. However, an investigation carried out by Bulgarian authorities in conjunction with the FBI, CIA and Israeli authorities now points to a suicide bomber described as a Cauacasian man with long hair and sports attire, according to the report.

The man was filmed walking around the airport for an hour prior to the attack by security cameras on the premises, according to the report. His body sustained the most damage in the blast, leading investigators to believe that he set off a bomb located on his person when he boarded the bus.

An FBI check of the document’s found on the man’s body, including a passport identifying him as a Michigan resident, determined that they were counterfeit, according to the report.

Outrageously, the UN Human Wrongs Rights Council has stayed conspicuously silent on the bombing, as has the UN High Commissioner for Human Wrongs Rights, Navi Pillay, with only a pro-forma condemnation from a UN spokesman.  As UN Watch writes at the above link:

• A U.N. spokesperson said that Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned the attack “in the strongest possible terms.” In fact, however, the U.N. chief’s choice of terms was weak in comparison to his statement two weeks ago on the bombing of churches in Kenya. In that case, Mr. Ban rightly spoke of “terrorist” attacks, “reprehensible and criminal,” saying the perpetrators “must be held to account.” Yet today hereferred only to the deadly “bombing” of Israelis — noticeably declining to describe it as an act of terrorism — and he made no call for holding the perpetrators to account. UN Watch today urged Mr. Ban to clarify his position and to truly use the strongest possible terms to condemn today’s terrorist attack.

• U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay has remained silent on today’s attack. By contrast, hours after the Gaza Flotilla incident of 2010, Ms. Pillay expresed her “shock” and condemned Israel. The top story on her office website instead criticizes Western states for how they combat terrorism, with America accused of having “dangerous” laws that violate due process. Supported by a Facebook campaign now going viral, UN Watch called on the High Commissioner to speak out for victims of terrorism, condemn today’s gruesome murders in Bulgaria, and instruct her staff to investigate the perpetrators and hold them fully accountable for the crimes.

• The U.N.’s 47-nation Human Rights Council has also stayed silent. By contrast, in 2004 it wasted no time in convening an emergency session to eulogize Hamas terrorist leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, and to condemn Israel. Currently, the council is busy with yet another “fact-finding mission” into alleged Israeli human rights violations. The council has never mandated an inquiry into terrorism or rocket attacks targeting Israelis.

I do not understand why Israel, or any other civilized country for that matter, still remains a member of the UN, which seems to do nothing besides condemn Israel and encourage terrorism.

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