The Freeh report accused the former coach and other university officials of “repeatedly” concealing “critical facts relating to Sandusky’s child abuse” in order to avoid bad publicity.
Many have since called for the removal of Paterno’s likeness in front of Beaver Stadium. A banner even flew above Penn State this week with the message, “Take the statue down or we will.”
Sandusky was convicted in June on 45 of 48 counts of sexual abuse against 10 boys, some within PSU’s athletic facilities.
The Paterno family plans to launch its own investigation in the wake of the Freeh report.
“The announcement of the findings by the Freeh Group is yet another shocking turn of events in this crisis,” the family said in a statement Monday. “We are dismayed by, and vehemently disagree with, some of the conclusions and assertions and the process by which they were developed. Mr. Freeh presented his opinions and interpretations as if they were absolute facts. We believe numerous issues in the report, and his commentary, bear further review.
“Our interest has been and remains the uncovering of the truth.”
Veteran sportscaster Bonnie Bernstein tweeted that Penn State’s board of trustees voted to remove the statue during a conference call Thursday night. “We did no such thing,” board member Ryan McCombie told Laura Nichols of StateCollege.com.
Joe Paterno photo by Ray Tharaldson al rights reserved 2012
Dozens Taken To Hospitals, Including A 3-Month-Old Baby
AURORA, Colo. (CBS4) – A terrifying shooting at an Aurora movie theater overnight left 13 people dead and about 38 people hurt.
The shooting happened at about 12:30 a.m. at the Town Center in Aurora at the Century 16 theater on East Alameda Avenue. Reports first came in that there were explosions in the theater showing the new Batman movie “The Dark Knight Rises.” Shots then rang out, and a frantic scene followed.
Police said a gunman with a gas mask on and dressed in black shot and killed dozens and dozens of people. Authorities say the suspect, James Holmes, 24, killed 10 people inside the theater complex and that three others died after they were taken from the scene. A three-month-old was among the dozens who were hurt, but the baby was treated and released from the hospital.
“Witnesses tell us he released some sort of canister. They heard a hissing sound and some gas emerged and the gunman opened fire,” Chief Dan Oates said.
Officials at The Medical Center of Aurora confirmed that some of their patients had to be treated for chemical exposure. They went through that hospital’s decontamination process and were released.
The midnight showing of the movie had just started when the violence began. Donovan Tate and his girlfriend escaped from the packed theater.
“There was this one guy on all fours crawling. There was this girl spitting up blood. There were bullet holes in some people’s backs, in some people’s arms. There was one guy who was just stripped down to his boxers. It looked like he had been shot in the back or something,” Tate told CBS4.
Aurora police said victims have been taken to six different hospitals, with 23 going to University of Colorado Hospital and 15 to The Medical Center of Aurora. They wrote in a news release that “many were rushed immediately to hospitals in police cars by responding officers. The injured and dead include a wide age range.”
University of Colorado Hospital spokeswoman Comilla Sasson said nine people were critical condition in their emergency room.
“At 1 a.m. we received notice that there had been a shooting in the area and then at about 1:15 a.m. we started having patients pouring in via police cars, ambulances private car,” Sasson said. “Then we activated our disaster protocol. So we had folks from all parts of the hospital coming in to help us, coming in specifically for this tragedy.”
The Medical Center of Aurora took in 15 patients after the shooting, 12 of whom had gunshot wounds. Those people ranged in age from 17 to 31. Six patients were taken to Denver Health Medical Center and three of those patients were treated and released.
Holmes was recently a graduate student at the medical school at the University of Colorado and withdrew in June.
Witnesses and people who were evacuated from apartments nearby were being taken to Gateway High School at 1300 S. Sable Blvd. for interviews and also to reunite with friends and family. RTD provided buses that were used to move those people back and forth from the scene of the shooting to the school.
“This is not only an act of extreme violence, it is also an act of depravity,” Gov. John Hickenlooper said in a prepared statement. “It is beyond the power of words to fully express our sorrow this morning. Our prayers and condolences go first to the families of those killed, and we share the grief of everyone affected by this senseless event. We appreciate the swift work by local, state and federal law enforcement. Coloradans have a remarkable ability to support one another in times of crisis. This one of those times.”
The incident is one of the worst mass shootings in the United States since 32 people were killed in 2007 on the Virginia Tech campus in Blacksburg, Va. In 1999, 13 people were killed in the Columbine High School massacre that happened about 25 miles southwest of Friday morning’s attack.
Warner Bros., the production company behind “The Dark Knight Rises,” released a statement saying they were “deeply saddened” by the shooting.
Police say that the apartment of the suspect in an early morning movie theater shooting appears to be booby trapped.
Police Chief Dan Oates said the explosive devices were "pretty sophisticated."
"We could be here for days," he said.
Five buildings have been evacuated.
Jim Yacone, special agent in charge of the Denver FBI, said they were working on "how to disarm the flammable or explosive material."
The 24-year-old suspect in the shooting, which left 12 people dead, was arrested at the scene but is not expected to appear in court until Monday, a court official said.
He has been identified as James Holmes, 24, of the 1600 block of Paris Street in Aurora.
Holmes was a graduate.
student in neurosciences at the University of Colorado but was in the process of withdrawing, university Spokeswoman Jacque Montgomery said. He enrolled at the university in June 2011.
In an apartment rental application he submitted early last year, Holmes described himself as a "quiet and easy-going" student. Other tenants in his building — which is reserved for students, faculty and staff of the medical campus — described him as a recluse.
A pharmacy student who also lives in the building told The Post he called 911 around 12:30 a.m. because there was a song blaring from the stereo inside apartment 10, where Holmes lived. The student, who wanted to be identified only as Ben, said he couldn't make out the song but that it seemed to be the same one playing on repeat.
He also said Holmes kept to himself and wouldn't acknowledge people when they passed in the hall and said hello.
"No one knew him. No one," Ben said.
According to public records searches, Holmes is from the San Diego area. He also has a prior addresses in Riverside, Calif., at least one of which is a University of California Riverside dormitory.
Holmes started living in the Aurora apartment building around May 2011,
His parents, who live in San Diego, could not be reached for comment Friday morning.
Police received several reports of the shooting at the Century 16 Movie Theaters at the Aurora Town Center around 12:39 a.m. Witnesses told police that a man entered the dark, packed theater and opened fire after throwing two smoke canisters.
A total of about 50 people were shot before police arrested the suspect in the parking lot outside the theater. He did not resist, police said.
Oates said the suspect made a statement to officers about possible explosives in his home. That prompted police to begin searching a third-floor apartment in north Aurora using a police robot and camera attached to a long pole.
The search began about 2 a.m. A resident of the building who didn't want to give his name said he answered his door to see police with assault rifles. An officer asked if he had seen a white guy with crazy hair, possibly dyed unnatural colors, the man said. It was unclear if the officer was referring to the suspect.
Wes Bradshaw and his mother Lavonne watched the search of the third-floor apartment from their apartment, they said. The two watched a police robot enter the building right before they heard a small explosion.
The two, along with the rest of the building's tenants, were ordered to evacuate shortly after that, they said.
Residents of the area were huddled on street corners waiting for news. Police at the scene told them it could be hours before they are allowed to return to their homes.
This morning, emergency crews are carefully trying to work their way into the suspect's third-floor apartment. About 6:30 a.m., three police officers on a fire truck bucket were looking through the window of the third-floor apartment and taking pictures.
Using a long pole, responders broke into the window from the basket atop of a hook and ladder truck.
Neighbors in a fourth-floor apartment one building away with a bird's eye view of the suspect's apartment said the curtains are usually closed and they never see any movement inside the apartment.
Even at night, there are no lights or anything in that apartment, said Yesenia Lujan,
24, who has lived in her apartment for seven months.
Using a camera with a zoom lens, Lujan's roommate said he could see into the suspect's kitchen, where a poster of Will Farrell in the movie "Anchorman" was hanging on the kitchen wall.
FBI are on still scene as well as local fire, police and Adams County Sheriff's deputies. Workers approached the window three at a time; they appear to be wearing helmets and flak vests while they peer into the apartment.
WARNING GRAPHIC CONTENT!
Cell phone video shot immediately after the shooting:
Celebraties reactions:
Olivia Munn: "My sincerest condolences to the victims and families in Colorado. So sad, so mindless."Kaley Cuoco: "Colorado omg.. Praying for the families...this is sick." Alyssa Milano: "No. Colorado shooting. My heart aches. Prayers for the victims and families."
Russell Simmons: "Praying for the people of Aurora, Colorado." Ryan Seacrest: "Thinking about the families who were affected by this horrible incident in Colorado. My thoughts and prayers are with you all."
Eva Longoria: "My heart goes out to all the people affected in the Aurora, CO shooting. May God be with that town and their families... "
Ashley Tisdale: "Saying a prayer for #Aurora. So sad to hear the news, u r all in my thoughts." Jessica Simpson: "Praying for the victims and families of those involved in the shooting in Colorado. My heart is broken. So awful. God Bless..." Giuliana Rancic: "Chills & tears watching coverage of #Aurora shootings. Praying for the innocent lives lost & those in hospital. What a tragedy." J.R. Martinez: "Waking up to the #tragic news of the # #theatershooting in #aurora CO. Sickening to say the least. No excuses or trial~max penalty for him." Kevin Smith: "Heartbreaking to read witnesses in Aurora say they first thought the shooting and gas was an elaborate, in-theater extension of the movie." Snooki: "My prayers go out to the victims and families of the Colorado theater shooting."
Mark Ballas: "Just heard about the Denver shootings.. My prayers go out to all the families..."
Donald Trump: "At least 12 dead and 50 wounded in Colorado--bring back fast trials & death penalty for mass murderers & terrorists."
Billy Ray Cyrus: "Oh no ! Just woke up and turned on the news "14 dead 50 hurt in Batman movie shooting". Praying for victims. So sorry and sad."
LuAnn de Lesseps: "What a tragedy in Colorado. Prayers to all the families." Dot-Marie Jones: "MY HEART AND PRAYERS GO OUT TO ALL OF THE FAMILIES IN AURORA CO. ITS A SENSELESS ACT , SENDING STRENGTH AND LOVE!" Paula Deen: "My heart and prayers go out to all the victims and families in Aurora, Colorado this morning." Kurt Warner: "My heart goes out 2 families effected by tragedy in Denver! Why must the world have so much hate & violence? We need more Love & Jesus!"Julie Benz: "in tears watching news footage of the mass shooting in Aurora, Colorado. My thoughts and prayers go out to the victims & their families." Lisa Rinna: "My heart and prayers goes out to the people of Aurora colorado. Senseless violence and killing has to stop. Tragic." Jon M. Chu: "Just came out of the Dark Knight screening to find out about the shooting in Denver. So sad and senseless. Praying for families and victims."Melissa Gilbert: "Just saw news about shooting in Colo. stunned and saddened. Prayers to all."
Retired General James Conway admits when he was presented with the idea of a Hoffman Estates museum to honor the more than 40 million veterans who have served in the American Armed Forces, he was skeptical.
“My first reaction was that this is ambitious,” said Conway, who served as the 34th Commandant of the United States Marine Corps.
But within a few days of meeting with village officials and visiting the area where the museum is slated to be located — on nearly 200 acres at the northwest corner of Beverly Road and I-90 — he agreed to be board chairman for the National Veterans Museum.
“I came away very well-convinced. There's tremendous support there,” he said, adding that he feels this “is an idea whose time has come.”
National Veterans Museum President Joe Cantafio, who also serves as CEO of the Forgotten Heroes Foundation and entertains soldiers abroad and veterans at U.S. hospitals with his music, said the goal of the museum and attractions surrounding it is to “honor, educate and preserve.”
On a vacant parcel of land near the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates, a group led by a musician-turned-financier-turned-fundraiser envisions an interactive museum that would, for the first time, honor veterans.
The plan, expected to cost about $350 million for the first of its four stages, started about seven years ago when Joe Cantafio – a musician who started performing concerts to raise funds for firefighters and U.S. troops – was approached by someone who runs other museums, commenting on how there isn’t one facility in the country that honors only veterans.
“It’s a shame,” said Cantafio, who decided to try to recruit members of the military, architects and designers to help him build such a place.
Cantafio said he started researching the idea and eventually set up a non-profit corporation last year, called National Veterans Museum, to help execute his plan to privately fund the mammoth project set in the northwest suburbs.
The National Veterans Museum Board of Directors is now focused on raising funds for the 325,000-square-foot museum, and hopes to later add an adjacent library, hotel and convention center, gardens, a cemetery and other features to fill more than 100 acres of now-vacant land on Beverly Road between Stone and Sears parkways.
Cantafio said he also wants to build a “patriot village” that would house disabled veterans and their families, as well as an apartment complex for homeless veterans. That part of the project would not be located at the Hoffman Estates site, he said, but added there is no timeline identified beyond the initial museum phase of the project.
With their sights set on a 2016 grand opening for the museum, Cantafio and members of the board say they are confident they’ll reach their lofty fundraising goals. However the group remain mum on any support from large corporations or other significant donors.
“Do I think it’s going to be easy? No,” Cantafio said. “Do I think it’s going to be completed? Yes.”
Retired U.S. Army Lt. General Randall Rigby, who lives in Lake Barrington, serves as vice-chairman of the board and heads up a financial subcommittee.
“We hope to do this all without government contributions,” he said. “We think there’s a pretty good market out there. None of us are blinking at the challenge.”
To help raise funds, the board will soon embark on an advertising campaign, he said.
So far, board members say they’ve received positive feedback on the museum-portion of the project, and its location in Hoffman Estates.
Rigby noted the travel convenience of the Chicago area – how it’s centrally located in the country and easily accessed by O’Hare International Airport and Interstate 90.
Hoffman Estates Village President Bill McLeod said he met with Cantafio and others involved with the project and was excited by the prospect.
“We’d obviously love to have it in Hoffman Estates. It would put the community on the map,” he said, adding the draw would be good for the village’s bottom line, bringing in tourists and tax revenue.
Cantafio won’t say how close he is to buying the land, nor if he’s secured the funds for the purchase that would kick off the project.
Ryan Trottier, vice president of East Dundee-based Plote Homes, which has owned the parcel of land for decades, said his company has been in talks with Cantafio and the National Veterans Museum board.
“We’re working in good faith with them,” he said. “We’re moving toward an agreement for them to purchase the land from us. They’ve showed us that they have a very impressive project team and a very impressive board of directors.”
Trottier wouldn’t say if the parties have worked out a price, but said there was no formal agreement as of late last week. He added he anticipates an agreement in the “coming months.”
Board members said they plan to meet in the Hoffman Estates-area later this month, and have already hired banks to manage funds, a designer, an architect and others who will work on the project.
Retired U.S. Marine Gen. Jim Conway serves as chairman of the board of directors for the group.
“The thought is golden,” he said of the project. “One of the great things about this museum is that it’s not static. It’s not just passive in its design.”
Conway said he realizes what a massive feat building a museum is after watching the planning and lengthy fundraising that went into building the National Museum of the Marine Corps in Virginia.
“After hearing figures tossed around for just the first phase, I thought, how are we going to do that?” he said.
But after learning more about the plan and meeting with Cantafio and others involved, Conway said he developed confidence in the project, and in the desire of citizens.
“There’s a love affair taking place right now between the citizens of this country and their veterans,” he said. “We’re hoping to capitalize on that.”
Ian Black and Martin Chulov guardian.co.uk
Three key figures reported dead amid mass troop defections and rumour of flight to Russia of Bashar al-Assad wife.
Hassan Turkmani, Bashar Assad
Bashar al-Assad, centre, with Hassan Turkmani, right, in 2005. Turkmani died in the bomb blast on 18 July along with Assef Shawkat, Assad’s brother-in-law, and Dawoud Rajha, defence minister. Photograph: Sana/AP
Syria's uprising entered uncharted territory after rebels fighting the regime of Bashar al-Assad killed three of his top security chiefs in a devastating bomb attack in the heart of Damascus – the single worst loss for the government in 16 months of increasingly bloody struggle.
Mass defections of soldiers and a rampage by pro-regime militiamen were reported in the capital amid a swirl of rumours, including one that Assad's wife, Asma, had fled to Russia and another that troops were being issued with gas masks, raising fears of the use of chemical weapons.
The president's whereabouts was also unclear, with one unconfirmed report that he had been wounded and left Damascus for Latakia on the coast.
Reports from Damascus on Wednesday described loud explosions, gunfire in the streets, attack helicopters firing and clouds of smoke over residential areas.
Earlier, Syrian state TV confirmed the deaths of Assef Shawkat, Assad's brother-in-law and the deputy head of the armed forces, and his closest security adviser, as well as Dawoud Rajha, the minister of defence and the regime's most senior Christian figure. Hassan Turkmani, his crisis management chief, was also killed.
Other leading figures, including the interior minister, Mohammad Shaar, and the intelligence chief, Hisham Bekhtyar, were wounded and being treated in the capital's al-Shami hospital. Uncertainty about the precise circumstances of the attack immediately gave rise to feverish speculation about possible internecine killings which the regime could blame on its enemies.
Explosions were also reported from the headquarters of the army's 4th Division in Damascus – the regime's elite unit commanded by Assad's brother, Maher.
Sergei Lavrov, Russia's foreign minister, said a "decisive battle" had begun in Syria. Lavrov also made it clear that Moscow would oppose a draft UN security council resolution threatening punishment if Assad did not implement the UN-backed peace plan promoted by Kofi Annan.
The US defence secretary, Leon Panetta, said Syria was now "rapidly spinning out of control".
In Syria, the Local Co-ordination Committees, an activist network, said 102 people had been killed in fighting across the country.
The morning attack on the headquarters of Syria's national security council in the al-Rawda area was the most audacious yet by anti-Assad rebels, who have been fighting sporadically in parts of the capital for the past four days. Syrian television said it was a suicide attack, and it was rumoured that the suspected killer may have been a bodyguard for Rajha or another member of Assad's inner circle. One pro-regime source in Damascus told the Guardian it was possible a bomb could have been planted on the premises.
The attack certainly appeared to be a deadly blow to the heart of the regime after two recent high-level defections – by a senior Republican Guard commander and Syria's ambassador to Iraq.
Syrian state television said foreign-backed "terrorists" had carried out the attack. The country's armed forces said in a statement that Syria was "determined to confront all forms of terrorism and chop off any hand that harms national security".
"The opposition has hit the jackpot," said Nadim Shehadi, a Middle East analyst at Chatham House in London. "The consequences are too big to digest. It may provoke more violence by the regime. Everyone is revising their calculations.
"People will be deciding whether to defect or not and the Russians will be wondering if they have backed the wrong horse," he said.
The attack was claimed by the Free Syrian Army, the main armed opposition group. "God willing, this is the beginning of the end of the regime," its commander, Riad al-Asaad, told AP in a telephone interview from Turkey. "Hopefully, Bashar will be next." An Islamist group called Liwa al-Islam also claimed responsibility.
Syrian state television, which was uncharacteristically quick to report the news, also said the military would call up its reserve forces on Thursday morning. Replacements for the three dead men were quickly announced.
General Fahd Jassem al-Freij, Rajha's replacement, denied reports on Arab satellite television channels about military defections in Idlib and Damascus and explosions at 4th Division HQ.
Rumours spread wildly in the hours after the incident, though much information was impossible to verify. According to one pro-government source, FSA rebels began moving around in pick-up trucks to demonstrate that they controlled parts of the city. Ba'ath party members had been executed by FSA men, the source said.
Damascus residents contacted by the Guardian said there had been no audible blast or visible damage at the site. Other Syrian sources suggested – without offering any evidence – that the three security chiefs might have been killed by the regime to forestall a possible coup or remove potential replacements for Assad.
"Either the generals were preparing a coup or if not there must be an intelligence operation here," said one Syrian analyst.
There were also widespread reports of defections in central Damascus as well as in the cities of Homs and Hama. Activists reported that several tanks had been abandoned near the centre of the capital and that several combat units had defected en masse. These reports could not be confirmed.
One activist, Omar al-Dimashki, said large numbers of troops and plainclothes police were deployed in the streets after the bombing, with snipers taking up positions on high buildings.
Shawkat, married to Assad's sister Bushra, was one of the most feared figures in the president's inner circle and had won the support of the clan's influential matriarch, Anisa. He was one of three central figures in the regime crackdown, along with Assad himself and his brother, Maher. As Syria's overall security chief, he had key input into all military and intelligence operations. He is known to have survived an attempt to poison him in late May when a cook contaminated food that had been prepared for him and key members of the national security ministry.
Abu Hamza, of the Free Syrian Army, told the Guardian at the time that rebel forces were trying to recruit aides of regime figures to carry out future attacks. "We have had some success with this," he said. "Some have been with us for a long time and have not yet been given orders to move."
Shawkat had also been a key point-man with Iran and with Hezbollah. Since the uprising started he had chaired key strategy meetings and had driven the regime's uncompromising and aggressive military response to the escalating dissent.
Rajha, a former general and an Orthodox Christian, was appointed defence minister last year in an apparent attempt by the Alawite-dominated regime to appoint a minority figure to a key job.
Prospects for any kind of negotiations between the government and rebels, always slim, have now all but disappeared.
Pro-regime Syrians appeared deeply shocked. "A lot of pro-Assad people are really panicking," said an opposition activist. "Now they sound really nervous."
Assad supporters admitted the attack was a serious blow. "This will not be the end of the regime in any way," said a member of Assad's Alawite community. "But it is serious and people are traumatised at the fact that the opposition managed to assassinate these people. But government supporters want the government to be firm and show it is still in control. The Syrian government is not usually impulsive."
The contribution goes toward the $350 million fundraising campaign that begun earlier this year.
News Corp. is donating $20 million to the Motion Picture & Television Fund, the charitable organization that cares for workers in the entertainment industry.
In announcing the donation, Rupert Murdoch, News Corp. chairman and CEO, said, “The MPTF is vital to the long-term health of the entertainment industry and provides crucial support to many valued members of the creative community. I’m so pleased we can play a role in its ongoing success and hope that this commitment will spur others within the entertainment community to get involved and join this important mission.”
“Rupert Murdoch has been a major donor to MPTF for nearly twenty years. He was one of the first people I approached when I became involved as Chairman of the MPTF Foundation in 1991. He said yes then and has never stopped, and now this incredible commitment from News Corporation is the ultimate expression of generosity,” said Jeffrey Katzenberg, chairman of the MPTF Campaign as he announced the contribution Wednesday along with Michael Douglas, MPTF Foundation committee member.
The MPTF, which runs a nursing home facility in Woodland Hills among its other activities, announced a $350 million fund-raising campaign in February. Last month, Barry Diller, chairman of IAC/InterActiveCorp., and his wife, fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg made a $30 million contribution through their family foundation.
The $350 million campaign is focused on meeting the needs of current industry workers as well as current and future retirees with charitable programs and services ranging from financial assistance for rent, mortgage, food and healthcare crises to counseling and health care support for uninsured and underinsured members of the entertainment community through a new MPTF program called Bridge to Health.
MPTF president and CEO Bob Beitcher said of the latest donation, “Everyone knows the unpredictable nature of working in the entertainment industry and the needs that can arise as a result. MPTF is only able to continue to provide a safety net because of generous donations and the gift from News Corporation is extraordinary and will surely impact thousands of lives for years to come.”
SOFIA, BULGARIA—A bus carrying Israeli youth exploded Wednesday in a Bulgarian resort, killing at least four people and wounding 27, police and hospital officials said. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called it “an Iranian terror attack” and promised a tough response.
The explosion took place in the Black Sea city of Burgas, some 400 kilometres east of the capital, Sofia. Images shown on Israeli and Bulgarian media showed smoke billowing from the scene — a parking lot at the local airport, where the Israeli tourists had apparently just landed. Several buses and cars were on fire near the carcass of the targeted vehicle.
Bulgaria, an eastern European nation bordering Greece and Turkey, is a popular tourist destination for Israelis.
It was not yet certain what caused the blast — whether it was the result of a suicide bomber or a device remotely detonated — and no group immediately claimed responsibility.
But Israelis often have been targeted in attacks outside their country, namely in India, Thailand and Azerbaijan. Israel suspects Iran of being behind these assaults, which have further added to tensions between the two nations already exacerbated by Israeli warnings against Iran's alleged pursuit of a nuclear weapons program.
Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Jonathan Rosenzweig said a flight from Tel Aviv had landed at 4:45 p.m. at the airport and that the blast took place about 40 minutes later. The tourists were apparently boarding the buses to go to their hotels.
Witness Gal Malka told Israel's Channel 2 TV that she saw someone board the bus before it exploded. Malka, who was lightly wounded, said the bus was full of Israeli teenagers. “We were at the entrance of the bus and in a few seconds we heard a huge boom,” she said.
Bulgarian Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov told Bulgarian national TV from Burgas that a person died in the hospital, bringing the death toll to four. Prior to that announcement, a doctor at the Burgas city hospital told Bulgarian radio that there were 27 people hurt — and at least three had severe injuries. He was not identified.
The airport was closed and traffic redirected. In Sofia, meanwhile, Mayor Yordanka Fandakova ordered a stronger police presence at all public places linked to the Jewish community. There are some 5,000 Jews in Bulgaria and most live in the capital.
The Israeli premier said “all signs point to Iran” in the deadly blast, though he did not offer any evidence to back up the claim. Netanyahu noted that the attack followed similar attempts in India, Georgia, Thailand and Kenya and Cyprus in recent months.
“This is an Iranian terror attack that is spreading across the world,” he said. “Israel will react strongly to Iran's terror.”
Tehran did not immediately issue any comment.
Iran, which insists its nuclear program is peaceful, has in the past accused Israel of being behind deadly attacks on Iranian nuclear scientists.
Israel has never admitted to involvement, but it and others have accused Iran of alleged reprisal missions, including a February bombing in New Delhi that wounded an Israeli diplomat's wife and the discovery of a cache of explosives in Bangkok that Thai officials claim was linked to a plot to target Israeli diplomats. Iran has denied involvement.
In Azerbaijan's capital of Baku, security officials in March announced the arrest of 22 suspects allegedly hired by Iran for terrorist attacks against the U.S. and Israeli embassies and other Western-linked sites.
Wednesday's attack also coincided with the 18th anniversary of the bombing of a Jewish community centre in Buenos Aires that killed 85 people. An Argentinian magistrate has concluded Iran was behind that attack.
Israeli officials also have long feared that the Iranian-backed Hezbollah guerrilla group would try to attack Israelis abroad. Hezbollah has accused Israel of assassinating a top leader in Damascus in 2008 and vowed to avenge the killing. Israel has never admitted involvement in the mysterious explosion.
Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon on Israel's Channel 2 TV said there was no advance intelligence on an attack in Bulgaria. But counterterrorism expert Boaz Ganor said Iran and Hezbollah were the most likely culprits. He told The Associated Press that all the indications pointed toward them. He also cited the arrest of a Hezbollah operative in Cyprus in recent days who was suspected of preparing a similar attack.
“This is probably a parallel operation and likely not the last in a series,” he said. “All this looks like Hezbollah, Iran or a combination of the two.”
