Bomb devices found in ambulance that carried pregnant woman from Syria

KİLİS

AA Photo

Heavy weapons and five bomb devices were found in an ambulance that carried a pregnant woman from Syria to the southeastern province of Kilis three weeks ago, a few days before an attack on the Öncüpınar crossing border that left 26 dead.

Authorities believe based on intelligence reports that the devices were likely loaded in the ambulance by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), as the jihadist group was suspected of attempting to carry out a bomb attack on the crossing border, daily Milliyet reported March 4.

The ambulance charged with the weapons crossed the Turkish border on Feb. 17, the report said, only three days before the deadly blast in Öncüpınar.

The weapons were accidentally discovered after the ambulance’s tires blew out as it passed over a trap, while delivering the patient to Turkish officials in the buffer zone on the Öncüpınar border. The Syrian driver jumped out and ran away, leaving the ambulance unattended. A later inspection of the ambulance by security forces revealed that it contained five bomb devices, long-barreled shotguns and a rocket projector, the report said.

All weapons were seized and an investigation was subsequently opened into the incident.

Turkey real target of attack

Authorities also learned the real target of the Feb. 20 attack at the refugee camp near the crossing hosting 30,000 Syrians was Turkey, according to the report.

The latest incidents have led Turkey to tighten security measures around the border and particularly in the buffer zone. Turkish intelligence officers have also intensified their work after the National Intelligence Organization (MİT) deployed a special team of experts.

Police and Gendarmerie forces have also started patrolling the buffer zone during the past 24-hours with armored vehicles.