Bulgaria ex-IntMin Awarded for Response to Sarafovo Bus Bombing

The incident at Sarafovo Airport near the Black Sea city of Burgas left six people dead, five of them Israeli tourists. The Bulgarian driver was also killed. Photo by BGNES

Bulgaria's former Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov has received an award from Chabad, the world's largest Jewish organization, for his reactions in the aftermath of the 2012 Sarafovo terror attack, the ruling GERB party has said.

At a ceremony held in the city of New York, US, where 4000 Chabad delegates were present, Tsvetanov became the first Bulgarian politician to be granted the award.

The gesture is a act of gratitude for the help of Tsvetanov to tackle the aftermath of the deadly bus bombing on July 18, 2012, which left five Israeli tourists and the Bulgarian driver dead.

Chabad delegates praised the former Interior Minister for his "battle against international terrorism" and his declaration that Hezbollah had been responsible for the attack, Focus News Agency says.

Tsvetanov, who was Bulgarian Interior Minister between 2009 and 2013, thanked Chabad for the award and reminded of Bulgaria's move to save thousands of Jews during WWII.