Bulgarian bus bomber dressed to blend in
(CBS News) A picture surfaced Thursday of the man who blew himself up in Bulgaria, killing five Israeli tourists and a bus driver. The picture shows why it's not likely anyone noticed him before the explosion.
Both Israeli and now American officials say they believe a Hezbollah cell operating in Bulgaria was behind the bus attack, and they believe they have developed the intelligence information to back that up.
The bomber dressed to blend in: Long hair; shorts and a ball cap; a t-shirt with what appears to be an American flag in the left corner; and a backpack - large, overstuffed, filled with explosives.
His hands never seem to leave his pockets. Bomb technicians say the trigger may have been concealed in one of them.
The bomber carried a driver's license from Michigan. When compared to a real one, it's a crudely-made fake identifying him as Jacque Felipe Martin of Louisiana. The address is that of a casino in Baton Rouge.
Bulgarian investigators, assisted by the FBI, are still trying to determine the true identity of the bomber and the type of explosives he used.
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Witnesses say after leaving the terminal, he fell into line with a crowd of Israeli tourists getting on a bus and detonated his bomb.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: "This attack was part of global campaign of terror carried out by Iran and Hezbollah. We will continue to fight against the terrorist and to exact a heavy price from those who support them."
If Iran is behind this attack, it was not unexpected. Iran vowed revenge after the fifth scientist working on its nuclear program was killed. Iran accused Israel of being behind the string of assassinations. Since January, there have been a series of plots targeting Israelis around the world, all of which failed, until this one.
The security camera in the bus terminal shows the bomber walking around the buses for almost an hour, apparently waiting for the maximum number of victims to come within range before detonated his device.
