The Bulgarian Ministry of Interior has released an image of the face of the suicide bomber who murdered five Israeli tourists and a Bulgarian bus driver last month.

The ministry said the image was generated using "modern technologies and techniques and based on available data" collected from the face of the bomber, which has been restored by police forensic officers.

Bulgarian authorities released the image in the hope that anyone who identifies the man will come forward with further information to assist in the investigation. A joint Bulgarian-Israeli investigation is underway to ascertain the full identity of the bomber and any accomplices.

The image shows a man who appears to be white, with combed-back dark hair and full eyebrows.

Israel has singled out Hezbollah and Iran as being responsible for the attack. Iran denied the charges, though its president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad later hinted that his country was behind the attack.

"They have indeed succeeded in inflicting blows upon us more than once, but have been rewarded with a far stronger response," Ahmadinejad said last month.

A few days later, Iran´s ambassador to the United Nations claimed Israel was behind the attack.

Israeli political and military leaders said a response to the terror attack would come at a time of Israel´s choosing, suggesting a possible covert strike against those behind the atrocity.

Meanwhile on Wednesday, Bulgaria´s Ministry of Interior said in a separate announcement that the country´s Border Police officers arrested an Iranian citizen who was being smuggled into the country.

Border police officials pulled over a vehicle with Italian license plates entering the country, the ministry said, adding that the driver was an Iranian citizen who entered Bulgaria with an Italian permit.

"The owner of the car, Italian national, was traveling with him. While checking, the border police officers found a 21-year-old Iranian national veiled with a blanket between the front and rear seats. The three people were detained in a temporary detention center in the town of Svilengrad. The car was seized. The case is under further investigation." (© 1995-2011, The Jerusalem Post 08/02/12)