“The U.S. Army takes training seriously and prioritizes the safety of our soldiers, our allies, and civilians. We sincerely apologize to the business and its employees,” the US military said in the statement. “We always learn from these exercises and are fully investigating the cause of this mistake. We will implement rigorous procedures to clearly define our training areas and prevent this type of incident in the future.”
Video from the factory’s security cameras obtained by CNN affiliate Nova TV appears to show US troops in military gear holding guns and walking in and out of the factory as others look on.
CNN has reached out to the factory owner, US embassy in Bulgaria, Bulgaria’s Interior Ministry and Defense Ministry for comment.
“It is inadmissible to have the lives of Bulgarian citizens disturbed and put at risk by military formations, whether Bulgarian or belonging to a foreign army,” Radev said. “The exercises with our allies on the territory of Bulgaria should contribute to building security and trust in collective defense, not breed tension.”
