InterAksyon.com
The online news portal of TV5
JERUSALEM -- (UPDATE - 1:59 p.m.) A suicide bomber carried out the attack on Israeli tourists in Bulgaria that left six Israelis and one Bulgarian dead, Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov said Thursday.
The Israeli foreign ministry had earlier confirmed that at least 31 Israelis had been wounded in the attackand that identification of several dead was under way.
"The explosion was caused by a man who died in the attack and whose identity has not yet been established," Tsvetanov said at the airport of Burgas, where the attack occurred on Wednesday. "The victims are now at eight -- six Israelis, one Bulgarian and the suicide bomber."
Israeli foreign ministry spokesman Lior Ben Dor told AFP that according to the Israeli equivalent of the Red Cross, Magen David Adom, which had visited the injured "there are 31 wounded, 28 hospitalized at Burgas (where the attack took place) and three others in serious condition who were transferred to Sofia."
Bulgaria said Wednesday's blast at its Black Sea airport of Burgas left six people dead and more than 30 wounded in the deadliest attack on Israelis abroad since 2004.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu immediately blamed arch foe Iran for the explosion that ripped through a bus picking up tourists arriving from Tel Aviv heading for the beaches and seaside resorts of the formerly communist European Union country.
The Israeli foreign ministry spokesman added: "More injured people might be in other hospitals. This possibility is being checked out by Magen David Adom. Almost all the families of the wounded have been contacted."
It was the first official confirmation by the Israelis of the nationality of the wounded.
Ben Dor said identification of the dead was "under way" and could take several hours or even a day.
Israeli specialized medical teams arrived at Burgas overnight, Ben Dor said.
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