Police in Bulgaria said they arrested two Israeli brothers on Thursday, who allegedly killed a third Israeli man, an acquaintance, apparently beating him and leaving him to die in a forest.
The victim, said to be 26, was found alive but unconscious and covered in bruises and abrasions in a forest near the southwestern Bulgarian town of Samokov, some 34 miles from the capital of Sofia, according to Hebrew-media reports.
Police found the victim after being alerted by a local, who told police he saw two men throwing what appeared to be a body from a vehicle before fleeing the scene.
Paramedics declared the man dead shortly after arriving at the scene.
The police tracked down and arrested the two brothers over a mile from where the body had been dumped, after finding their abandoned car not far from where the victim was found.
The two brothers, both in their thirties, are said to have arrived in Bulgaria with the murder victim on Tuesday.
It is not currently known what the exact relationship was between the two brothers and the murder victim, or what their motive was for killing him.
The Foreign Ministry said that Israel was informed by Bulgarian authorities of the two brothers’ arrest and that the Israeli embassy in Bulgaria is in contact with them, Hebrew media reported.
