Mohammad Hassan El-Husseini, a 23-year-old French-Lebanese terrorist who killed five Israelis in an attack in Bulgaria in 2012, was buried in a cemetery for Hezbollah fighters after Lebanese officials negotiated for the return of his remains, the Associated Press (AP) reported on Saturday.
The terrorist carried out the bus bombing at Burgas Airport, killing five Israelis, including a pregnant woman and a Bulgarian bus driver. Nearly 40 others were wounded during the attack. The explosion had been set after a flight arrived from Tel Aviv, when the tourists were en route to their hotels.
The attack’s victims were Yitzhak Kolangi, 28, of Petah Tikva; Maor Harush, 26, of Acre; Amir Menashe, 27, of Petah Tikva; Elior Preis, 26, of Acre; and Kochava Shriki, 44, of Rishon Lezion, who was pregnant, and the bus driver was Mustafa Kyosov, 36, a Muslim from the village of Yurukovo in southwestern Bulgaria.
Hezbollah's role in the attack
The former head of the Lebanese General Security intelligence agency, Abbas Ibrahim, told AP that he negotiated the return of the remains on behalf of the terrorist’s family and that the burial was on Friday.
Both El-Husseini’s accomplices, Meliad Farah, an Australian-Lebanese national, and Hassan El Hajj Hassan, a Canadian-Lebanese national, remain at large. Nevertheless, in 2016, they were charged with “complicity in an act of terrorism.” In September 2020, they were found guilty by a Bulgarian court, sentenced to life imprisonment without parole, and ordered to pay compensation to the victims’ families. They have so far evaded international arrest warrants.
Intelligence officials and prosecutors believe that the attack was orchestrated by Hezbollah. The terror group has previously denied involvement in the attack, BBC News reported.