During the course of the counter-terrorism and crime prevention workshops that I conduct for governmental and corporate groups, I frequently make reference to the large number of terrorist attacks that are interrupted or foiled by security forces around the world. Fortunately, I always cite examples of such prevented attacks, less skeptics question such successes.
It is also known that some foreign travelers may occasionally question the time-consuming counter-terrorism efforts that governments worldwide engage in daily as "overkill," yet Bulgarian security forces on Tuesday (January 3) foiled an improvised explosive device (IED) plot to kill a group of Israeli tourists who were traveling from the Turkish border to a Bulgarian ski resort.
Fortunately, the IED was found on a bus the Israeli tourists would be traveling on, and rendered it safe, heading off what could have been a politically embarrassing day for the Bulgarian government.
COMMENT: As a result of the bomb's discovery, Bulgarian troops were deployed in several ski resorts frequented by Israeli tourists after the bomb was found.
It is believed that the foiled attack might well have been intended to serve as an anniversary event, as it was approaching the fourth anniversary of the Israeli government's slaying of Lebanese Hezbollah commander Imad Mughniyeh who was killed in a 2008 car-bombing in Syria.
