(CBS/AP) SOFIA, Bulgaria - A bus carrying Israeli youth in a Bulgarian resort city exploded Wednesday, killing at least three people and wounding at least 27, police said. Witnesses told Israeli media that the huge blast occurred soon after someone boarded the vehicle.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said "all signs point to Iran" being behind the blast.
Netanyahu said that "this is an Iranian terrorist attack that is spreading across the world," noting there have been similar attempts in India, Georgia, Thailand, Kenya and Cyprus in recent months
"Israel will react strongly to Iran's terror," he said.
The incident took place in the Black Sea city of Burgas, some 400 kilometers (250 miles) east of the capital, Sofia. Images shown on Israeli media showed smoke billowing from the scene.
Bulgaria, an eastern European nation, is a popular tourist destination for Israelis.
Destroyed buses are seen at Burgas airport, outside the Black Sea city of Burgas, Bulgaria, some 250 miles east of the capital, Sofia, Wednesday, July 18, 2012.
(Credit: AP Photo/ Bulphoto Agency)Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Jonathan Rosenzweig said a flight from Tel Aviv had landed at a quarter to 5 p.m. and that the blast took place about 40 minutes later.
"We don't know if it was a terror attack," said Paul Hirschson, another spokesman for the ministry, at the time. "We do know it was an explosion."
Witness Gal Malka told Israel's Channel 2 TV that she saw someone board the bus before it exploded. Other witnesses told CBS News reporter Jordan Jordanovich that flames were five meters high.
Officials said Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman had spoken with his Bulgarian counterpart and was being kept abreast of the developments.
White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said the U.S. condemns the attack and that it stands with the people of Israel and Bulgaria.
Wednesday's attack came on the 18th anniversary of the bombing of a Jewish community center in Argentina.
