Bulgaria bus bomb leaves Israel on Olympic alert

Israel Prime Minster Benjamin Netanyahu has warned that the country remains on alert following last week’s terrorist attack in Bulgaria, citing speculation that the suicide bombing could have been a rehearsal for an attack on the Israeli Olympic team.

The suicide attack killed five Israeli tourists and efforts to identify the bomber have so far proved unsuccessful, with Bulgarian Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov confirming that that the attacker was not thought to be a Bulgarian citizen.

Israel have levelled the blame at Iran, accusations that Iran have deemed as "baseless", with Netanyahu telling CBS television’s Face the Nation programme, "We are vigilant about the possibility that they (Iran and its agents) would attack elsewhere, but I can’t give specific details."

Whilst Israel confirmed that they remained alert ahead of the 2012 Olympic Games, which starts later this week in London, UK, the nation did move to deny claims that appeared in the Sunday Times alleging that Israel had sent a team to hunt down militants preparing a potential attack.

The Sunday Times has reported that Israel has upped the level of security surrounding its Olympic delegation in the wake of last week’s suicide attack, fearing an attack that could echo Palestinian terrorist group Black September’s attack at the 1972 Munich Games which killed 11 Israelis.

The reports also claim that agents from Israel’s Mossad had been dispatched to Europe in search of potential militants, an allegation which has been rubbished by Israel.

Although the extent to which Israel has upped its security remains unclear, last week’s terrorist attack in Bulgaria has patently left Israel on edge in the lead up to this summer’s Olympic Games. Israel Defence Minister Ehud Barak spoke of security measures, telling reporters: "There is definitely vigilance in terms of intelligence and operationally ahead of the Olympic Games."

"Naturally it is an attractive event, and even without concrete warnings, we must be ready and alert, first and foremost because such things have already happened. We remember Munich," Barak added.