Bulgaria rules out “without a doubt” any link to the devices that exploded in Lebanon

Authorities stress that none of these communication devices “were imported, exported or manufactured in Bulgaria.”

September 20 (EUROPA PRESS) –

Bulgarian authorities said Friday that their investigations indicate “without a doubt” that the thousands of pagers that exploded in a coordinated manner this week in Lebanon, an attack blamed on Israel and which left at least 12 dead and more than 2,300 injured, were not manufactured, imported or exported by the European country.

Bulgaria’s National Security Agency (NSSA) said in a statement that its analyses – carried out in conjunction with other agencies, including the Ministry of the Interior – allow it to determine “without a doubt” that “no communication device was imported, exported or manufactured in Bulgaria, in relation to those that exploded on September 17, 2024 in Lebanon and Syria.”

He also stressed that the company Norta Global, mentioned in connection with these incidents, “did not carry out transactions over which Bulgaria has jurisdiction relating to the purchase or sale of goods.”

“Norta Global did not carry out financial operations that fall within the scope of the Law on Measures against the Financing of Terrorism, nor did it maintain commercial relations with persons or entities subject to sanctions by the United Nations Security Council or the Council of the European Union,” it concluded.

The agency announced on Thursday that it was looking into the company’s possible connection to the thousands of searches that erupted in Lebanon on Tuesday. The first clues led to Taiwanese firm Gold Apollo, which quickly dispelled suspicions by saying it had transferred manufacturing rights to a second company, BAC Consulting, based in Hungary.

However, the Hungarian government has indicated that BAC Consulting is a mere “commercial intermediary”, with no manufacturing capacity for the devices, and sources cited by the Bulgarian portal Telex have stated that it was in fact a Sofia-based company, Norta Global, which facilitated the sale of the devices delivered to Hezbollah.

Tuesday’s attacks were followed a day later by a wave of walkie-talkie explosions also blamed on Israel, killing nearly 40 people and wounding some 3,000, according to Lebanese authorities. The devices were reportedly purchased by the Shiite militia party Hezbollah, although it is not immediately clear how many of the victims are members of the group and how many are civilians.

The indiscriminate nature of the attacks, which was evident in explosions in places outside the military sphere or with large crowds, has been criticised by the United Nations, whose Secretary General, António Guterres, has urged not to use civilian objects as weapons.

Indeed, Lebanon’s interim Prime Minister Nayib Mikati has called on the United Nations Security Council to take a “firm position” against “Israeli aggression” and its “technological warfare”, while Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah has accused Israel of provoking an “unprecedented massacre” and “crossing all ‘red lines'”.