Bulgarian Expert: Blast Could Hurt Nearby Passengers

Bulgarian terrorism expert, Ivan Boyadzhiev, said that the initiator of the blast at the office of Galeria weekly would be hard to find. Photo by BGNES

The blast at the office of Bulgarian newspaper Galeria was very powerful and could have hurt nearby passengers, said Ivan Boyadzhiev, security expert at the Sofia Municipality.

"Such bombs could be used for many purposes. It is now known yet how this specific bomb was activated. It will be established after the security services investigate the case," Boyadzhiev said, as cited by the Bulgarian news website dir.bg.

He added that in his opinion, the blast aimed at intimidating the Galeria staff.

According to preliminary and not yet confirmed information, the explosive that shook the Galeria office and the nearby buildings early Thursday morning was equivalent to 400 grams of TNT.

Boyadzhiev said he did not know if there were any cameras nearby, which could have recorded the attackers.

"Usually camera cannot show much at this time, 5:30 am, when it is still dark. But placing such an explosive is not difficult. It is a matter of minutes. You pass, you throw it and then you activate it," he said.

The expert also pointed out that the preparation of a similar explosive is also not difficult.

"When terrorists plan a terrorism act, they first set a target, then decide on the required power and materials. They think how they can make it so that the security systems do not find out. There are many ways for preparation, installation and activation of such devices," Boyadzhiev said.

He also explained that explosions usually occur at difficult moments for the state and their initiator is very difficult to find.

"One person orders the bomb, another one is preparing it, other people are responsible for its installment. And the chain is broken. Years could pass before discovering the initiators. But such terrorists sooner or later are caught and they get what they deserve," he said.

The blast in the building, which hosts the office of Galeria weekly, occurred shortly after 5:30 am Thursday.

There are no injured people, but damages were reported. There were broken windows of the office and nearby buildings.

The explosion is believed to have aimed at intimidating the controversial newspaper.

In January, Galeria weekly and the marginal conservative party RZS ("Order, Law, Justice"), both of which are deemed to be connected with Alexei Petrov, a former undercover agent arrested in a special police operation in February 2010, dubbed "the Octopus" and "the Tractor".

The tapes, whose authenticity remains disputed despite the fact that several institutions and alleged independent experts have come up with different conclusions on whether they were manipulated, contain alleged information that the government of PM Boyko Borisov is favoring certain companies and individuals with respect to investigations and appointments in the Customs Agency. All tapes are of conversations of Customs Agency head Vanyo Tanov.

We need your support so Novinite.com can keep delivering news and information about Bulgaria! Thank you!