Assassination attempt against Bulgaria’s Prosecutor General

Shortly before 12 o'clock on May 1, a bomb exploded near the car of Prosecutor General, Ivan Geshev, while it was passing through a sharp turn on the road Samokov-Sofia.

"The explosion was extremely powerful, according to eyewitnesses the pillar of fire that erupted was 4-5 metres high. A crater 30-40 centimetres deep and nearly 3 metres in diameter was formed on the spot. This is next to the roadway," Deputy Prosecutor General Borislav Sarafov said.

Besides Geshev, his family was also in the car. No one was injured.

"The explosion was aimed at the road, at passing cars. The bomb not only had a high TNT equivalent, no less than 3 kilograms of TNT equivalent in the initial opinion of experts, but shrapnel as well. Multiple fragments that scattered and stuck in the trees opposite. Apparently the explosive device was intended to kill. It wasn't meant to intimidate, it wasn't fireworks. It was an extremely powerful blast, including shrapnel, the metal pellets that we found, some of which lodged in the trees were the size of a human fingernail. According to the testimony of the National Service for Protection officers, the blast moved the vehicle to the left," Sarafov said.

The bombing took place on a long turn on the road where cars have to slow down.

"We are looking for traces of possible perpetrators, including with tracking dogs. Markers have been found at the scene that apparently the perpetrators left, and certain objects to indicate when the vehicle passes, so that the bomb can be triggered. Clearly a professionally prepared assassination, extremely professional and well executed. It was only a stroke of luck that saved both the chief prosecutor and his family, and a number of other people who were passing at the time and shortly before that on that road."

The Prosecutor's office has opened proceedings for an act of terrorism. An incident room has been established by the Ministry of Interior to lead the investigation.

"The threat to the life of every Bulgarian citizen is unacceptable and our actions will accordingly be firmly in defence of the health, life and property of Bulgarian citizens, as we always do," said Secretary General of the Ministry of Interior, Petar Todorov.

Investigative work at the scene of the attempted assassination is expected to continue until late this evening.

"All the soil from the blast site will be taken, detonators are being searched for, shrapnel is being searched for, all the shrapnel will be taken. We are not ruling out any versions, most probably these people were here and had visual contact with the road, with the road situation, with the vehicles that were passing. There is no way to judge the exact moment of the blast because there are many cars passing on this road. The explosion went off literally at the moment when the prosecutor-general's car was aligned with the site of the bomb," Borislav Sarafov said.

Asked if the bombers knew where the Prosecutor General would pass, Sarafov clarified.

"The routes used by the National Service for Protection are to a large extent secret, there are always main and backup routes, but this will be part of establishing the circumstances of the case. We have yet to establish whether anyone knew the route or whether explosive devices were planted along all possible routes."

All agencies in the country are involved in the investigation.

"We're not just talking about Ivan Geshev here, we're talking about an assault on one of the key men in the state, one of those who personify the state, the prosecutor general personifies the state prosecution. This is an attack against the Prosecutor General, not just against the person Ivan Geshev."

After the attack, additional measures were taken for the security of the Prosecutor General and his family.

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