Grenade Launcher Shootout Rocks Downtown Sofia

A grenade launcher has been used near the home of an ex-security agent immediately next to the central area of Bulgaria's capital Sofia, officials have confirmed.

It is unclear whether the attack was targeting Alexei Petrov himself, a former employee of national security agency DANS widely suspected of having ties to the criminal underworld.

Unconfirmed reports emerged later, quoted by Focus Radio, that the grenade launcher had fired at a vehicle belonging to Petrov.

The Bulgarian National Radio, citing its own sources, says two firearms were used.

No-one has been hurt in the attack, but the Interior Ministry has reported "damage" to property.

MPs have now invited the Interior Minister, Rumyana Bachvarova, to Parliament to give more details on the incident.

Police have sealed off the area.

The incident took place before 09:00 local time (EET) on Thursday morning.

An attempt was made on Petrov's life in 2002, at another site in the same central neighborhood.

Petrov, who had formerly worked for the Specialized Squad for Combating Terrorism, was exposed in 2008, by then Interior Minister Rumen Petkov, as an undercover agent at the State Agency for National Security, Bulgaria's domestic security and counter-intelligence service.



More to follow.

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