Those who attacked the Bulgarian camp received $60,000 in return for blasting it on 27 December, sources from the Karbala special police have announced yesterday.
On 27 December last year, three terrorists blew up a tanker at the India base, where the Bulgarian contingent was stationed. The attack claimed the lives of five Bulgarian servicemen and left 21 injured.
Only the driver of the tanker knew that it was going to be blown up.
He was the one who carried the remote-control detonator.
The other men inside the truck only knew that they were supposed to shoot at the Bulgarian servicemen. The third man in the tanker did not know where he was going or what would happen. This was told during the questioning by the alleged organizers of the attack, after they had been captured. So far, six men have been detained in connection with the incident.
Two of them admitted complicity, as Trud wrote. The perpetrators were Shi'ites from Karbala and did it for money.
The organizer of the attack is thought to be an Islamic fanatic Sunni organization, a branch of Ansar al-Islam, which works from outside. One of al-Islam's sources of financing are people of al-Qa'ida from Saudi Arabia.
The attack was filmed by the terrorists, who normally film their raids from a remote location.
The motive of the attack was not that the servicemen were Bulgarian.
The Islamists want to broaden the scope of their attacks so as to also cover the Shi'ite regions. Additionally, they want to weaken the pressure and the investigation against them in Baghdad and in central Iraq, antiterrorism specialists explain.
It is expected that there will be new arrests of people connected with the attack, and that progress will be booked in identifying the direct organizers and masterminds.
The arrested terrorists are in the hands of the US forces and are not in Karbala. Nevertheless, the Iraqi police in Karbala played an important role in untangling the case, sources familiar with the investigation have explained.
A local lawyer has explained that the terrorists, who organized the attack against the India base, could be prosecuted also in Bulgaria, as the Iraqi legislation permits this. The Bulgarian servicemen in Karbala are feeling well, the Trud envoy has established. "We are calm but alert, especially after 27 December," said a private from the new recruitment.
Two nights ago, 500 meters away from the base, a grenade exploded, but this was "part of everyday life," and nobody was hurt.
Wishing to remain anonymous, the private explained that discipline had been tightened.
The second Bulgarian contingent is now at the India base, and its size has temporarily been reduced from 480 to 460 troops. The Bulgarians are now better protected against attacks, and some of the streets adjacent to the base have been cut off.
Fewer coalition patrols can be seen around the city. As is all over Iraq, it is primarily local police officers who do the patrolling. Col. Karim, head of the Karbala police, has announced that there have been no incidents involving the new Bulgarian servicemen, and that they (the Karbala police) work in full synchronicity with the new contingent's leadership.
One of the tasks of the second Bulgarian battalion is to join the training of the new Iraqi army. Right now the Iraqis are patrolling alongside the Bulgarians and the Poles. The Bulgarian camp is also working on several public building repair projects, Lieut. Col. Petur Petrov, battalion spokesman, has announced.
The Bulgarians are also preparing for the forthcoming big Shi'ite celebration in Karbala in early March, when several million worshipers are expected to pour into the city, and new attacks are possible to occur.
(Description of Source: Sofia Trud in Bulgarian — popular privately owned daily; labor-oriented, sometimes critical of both the government and the opposition)
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