Explosive device found in car with Syrian license plate in southeast Turkey

ŞANLIURFA – Doğan News Agency

The car was stopped at a checkpoint on the highway connecting the city of Şanlıurfa to Mardin, in the early hours of June 26. DHA Photo

An explosive device has been found in the trunk of a car with a Syrian license plate during a security check in the southeastern province of Şanlıurfa in the early hours of June 26.

The car was stopped at a checkpoint on the highway connecting the city of Şanlıurfa to Mardin, along the Syrian border. Bomb experts were rushed to the scene to defuse the explosive device. Police said the device was controlled remotely and that they contained highly explosive material.

The driver of the car, identified as İsmail İ., works as a security guard at Harran University’s animal shelter ın Şanlıurfa, police said.

The suspect was detained and taken to the police department while his house was searched. Following his interrogation, the police launched raids at several addresses in Şanlıurfa where Syrian citizens were living.

Turkish authorities had tightened security measures in the provinces bordering Syria, following the double bomb attacks in Hatay’s Reyhanlı district on May 11, 2013, which claimed the lives of 53 people.