Former commando Alexi Dimitrov told to “the Telegraph Podcast” details of the security of President Georgi Parvanov during his visit to Karbala in 2004 – a period marked by sharp clashes,assassinations and heavy losses for the Bulgarian contingent in Iraq. Dimitrov, who has special tasks in the region and was then invited to serve in the SOBT, for the first time publicly revealed facts that were not known until now.

Two hits on the president’s jeep

According to Dimitrov, when they escorted the president from an American base to our base in karbala, the group was fired upon from neighboring buildings.

“When we approached the base, they opened fire on us from neighboring buildings,” Dimitrov recalled.”We had no way to respond because we were going to shoot our own.The president’s jeep took two hits – one in the back door, the other under the back window. Fortunately, the machine was highly armored – even resistant to an RPG hit.”

Dimitrov added that the NSO guards in the first ca

Heavy losses and Close Encounters with Death

he admits that he repeatedly came under fire and that he had to fire to protect his life and that of his comrades.

Dimitrov said that their tasks, in addition to VIP security, also included special operations: ambushes, reconnaissance, clearing objects and operations against weapons warehouses. In one of the operations, he and his team spent days in a castle/palace, clearing premises and preparing the action that then resulted.

Heavy losses and close encounters with death

During the mission, the Bulgarian contingent paid dearly: five rangers were killed in an attack on the “India” base, 27 were injured. When the first contingent was attacked with a truck bomb, the commander and the deputy of Dimitrov’s group – Lieutenant Sarev and Anton Petrov – died. He also mentioned other seriously wounded fighters.

Dimitrov recounted n

Bulgarian Special Forces and Al-Qaeda Operations

A successful operation was conducted, during which weapons depots and hideouts of Al-Qaeda were discovered.

The history of the “gift” and recognition by Americans

As a sign of respect and as a symbol of support, Dimitrov collected dirt from different parts of Bulgaria and from Krastova Gora – with two bags of tricolor, which he wanted to present as a gesture to the president. He admitted that Parvanov’s act impressed him and motivated people.

Bulgarian special forces were also highly valued by American allies. In his story, Dimitrov mentioned an excellent evaluation by the American special forces (DELTA) for their actions. In a dramatic situation during the guarding of the American administrator John Berry – when there was an attempted attack and the Bulgarian group was “targeted” by a spiked trap and open fire from the roofs – the presence of Bulgarians saved the administrator’s life.