Sofia, 2 May 2023 (dpa/MIA) - An explosive attack was carried out on the convoy of the politically controversial prosecutor general of Bulgaria, Ivan Geshev, investigators said on Monday.

Sheev was not injured in the violent explosion on Monday afternoon.

The explosive device was filled with metal balls and could have been fatal, explained Deputy Chief Prosecutor Borislav Sarafov. "It is obviously a professionally prepared attack."

It was merely luck that Geshev and his family did not die, said Sarafov, who heads the EU country's investigative agency.

The explosive device detonated right next to a country road not far from the town of Samokov, which is about 50 kilometres south of the capital Sofia, according to official sources.

Geshev was in one of several vehicles in a convoy. The attack occurred in the midst of a government crisis that continues after the most recent parliamentary election on April 2.

Geshev was elected Bulgaria's attorney general by the Supreme Judicial Council in 2019 - still during the third and so far last term of then-prime minister Boyko Borisov.

Since then, the anti-Borisov camp and demonstrators have repeatedly called for Geshev's resignation. He is accused of dragging his feet on prosecuting key figures on charges of corruption.

Photo: MIA archive