Bulgaria : Bus bomb 'detonated remotely'

Victims of a terrorism attack on a tourist bus in Bulgaria have told investigators that the bomb was detonated from a distance by remote control after the bomber was challenged by two Israeli men who died in the explosion.

Itzik Colangi and Amir Menashe confronted the bomber when he moved their bags in order to try to place the device deeper inside the luggage compartment of the tour bus headed for the Black Sea's "Sunny Beach' resort.

The authorities have confirmed that the bomber, who died in the Burgas airport attack that killed five Israeli tourists and a Bulgarian, was backed up by an organised group that helped him plan and carry out the attack.

 Colangi's wife, Gilat, who survived the bombing, told police that as the argument escalated another person triggered the device, an account that is borne out by other witnesses. "An operator activated the load by remote control," she told Israeli television reporters.

"He [the bomber] came over to the bus, pushed their bags aside and put his own bag down. They started to argue with him - and that's when his operator, who saw them from a distance - activated the explosive."

Forensic analysis of the bomber's head has reportedly shown he may have been mentally disabled.