Forty hurt in Bulgaria gas attack

[<bleeding_heart>]

At least 40 people have been hurt, some seriously, in a poison gas attack in the Bulgarian capital.

A bomb containing a toxic chloride gas was thrown into a visitors' area in a Sofia traffic police office, the Interior Ministry said.

At least one person was said to be in a life-threatening condition and four others were critically ill.

Police said a suspect was held two hours after the attack, but there was no word on possible motive.

The attack occurred at 1000 (0700GMT) when the office was crowded with people.

We have measured for poisonous emissions in the air...and there is no further danger to the public

Civil defence official

The health ministry identified the chemical as chloropicrin, a pesticide that has also been used in the past as a military-grade tear gas.

It can be extremely dangerous when inhaled in large quantities.

Officials later said the gas content in the air had dropped back to safe levels.

"We have measured for poisonous emissions in the air...and there is no further danger to the public," a civil defence official said.

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[fearfulone]

Oh dear God, i hope this does not begin. I was really starting to doubt that these guys had the intelligence or resources to mount a large biological/chemical warfare, but this may be the beginning. Now i'm wondering though...why bulgaria? Test site?

[<bleeding_heart>]

With any luck it was just a lone nut!

[Erikl]

why bulgaria? Test site?

Three reasons:

1. Bulgaria sent troops to Iraq.

2. Bulgaria was once part of the Islamic Ottoman empire - means that it was a Muslim land (and so Muslims should re-conquer it according to Al-Qaeda's ideology).

3. From all the countries that are in the group of the above two reasons, Bulgaria is one of the easiest to commit an attack on, because of it's economical situation and poor security.

Edited April 9, 2004 by Erikl

[fearfulone]

why bulgaria? Test site?

Two reasons:

1. Bulgaria sent troops to Iraq.

2. Bulgaria was once part of the Islamic Ottoman empire - means that it was a Muslim land (and so Muslims should re-conquer it according to Al-Qaeda's ideology).

3. From all the countries that are in the group of the above two reasons, Bulgaria is one of the easiest to commit an attack on, because of it's economical situation and poor security.

Awesome! Thanks for the info...makes sense now

Feel sorry for the Bulgarians...

[<bleeding_heart>]

SOFIA : Forty-eight people were hospitalized with gas inhalation in Sofia after a butcher dropped a tear gas device in a traffic police station in "an unpremeditated incident", the interior ministry said.

In the initial panic, some thought there had been a grenade attack.

Instead, the 51-year-old butcher said he accidentally dropped a teargas spray which is "freely available in shops" when he went to collect his driving licence, said interior ministry official Boiko Borissov.

Hospital officials said nine people were in serious condition, among them a police sergeant, but their were lives were not in danger.

The butcher was charged and could face two years in prison.

The tear gas, normally used by riot police, is the kind used by anti-riot police.

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