Bulgaria bus bomber accomplice

The image of the unshaven white man, with short dark hair and a chubby build, was accompanied by a picture of a fake driver's license from the US state of Michigan. In the photo, it also appears the man is wearing a wig.

Authorities said they have no idea who the man is or where he might be from. They did say that he may have used other identities besides the Michigan one, which bears the name "Ralph William Rico," a bespectacled man 175 cm (five feet, nine inches) tall and born on June 19, 1987.

"There is evidence that the man from the picture has been presenting himself with a false driving license from Michigan, USA," the Bulgarian interior ministry said in a release. "He may have also used other names." The ministry also appealed to citizens who might have seen the man to contact the police.

In the photos provided, the man appears to be in his late twenties.

Meanwhile, investigators are still trying to identify the bomber who also wounded more than 30 people at the popular gateway for tourists visiting the country's Black Sea coast.

Earlier this month, Bulgarian police and Interpol circulated a computer reconstruction of the suicide bomber, showing a man about 30 years old with swept-back black hair and dark eyes. Investigators are yet to establish his nationality or how he entered Bulgaria. That man also had a fake Michigan driver's license, bearing the name "Jacque Felipe Martin."

The July 18 bombing at Burgas airport along the Black Sea coast killed five Israeli tourists and a Bulgarian bus driver, along with the bomber. Israel has accused Iran and Lebanese Islamist group Hezbollah of being behind the bombing, though the Iranian government has denied the charge and accused Israel of carrying out the attack on its own citizens.

bm/slk (dpa, Reuters)