An officer stands near damaged buildings after a bombing in Hatay in 2013.
One of the suspects in the deadly 2013 bombing attack in Hatay was apprehended by security forces during an operation in the southern province on Oct. 3, marking the second arrest linked to the attack in the past week.
As part of an ongoing investigation into individuals connected to the attack, security forces identified the address in the Antakya district where 59-year-old Bülent Dükkancı, a member of the outlawed THKP-C, was staying.
An operation was carried out at the address under the coordination of the Hatay Provincial Gendarmerie Command, with support from the Hatay Provincial Police Department and the National Intelligence Organization (MİT).
Dükkancı was apprehended and taken into custody.
A search of the premises uncovered two mobile phones, an unlicensed handgun, one magazine and seven rounds of ammunition.
The operation came two days after Turkish intelligence apprehended Ömer el-Hatip, one of the Syrian perpetrators of the 2013 Reyhanlı terrorist attack, as he was attempting to flee to Europe by sea.
MİT had been monitoring el-Hatip’s activities in Syria for some time, according to security sources. He was captured while attempting to escape to Europe and subsequently brought to Türkiye.
Two car bombs exploded in Hatay’s Reyhanlı district, near the Syrian border, on May 11, 2013, killing 53 people and injuring dozens of others.
Prior to the attack, el-Hatip entered Türkiye from Hatay to identify the locations where the attack was to be carried out, according to the sources.
He also handed over the bomb-making mechanism used in the attack to those who carried it out.
El-Hatip and the other perpetrators were reportedly rewarded with money by the regime of Bashar al-Assad for their involvement in the attack.
A verdict in the Reyhanlı attack trial was handed down on Feb. 23, 2018. Of the 33 defendants whose trials over the bombings were ongoing, nine were sentenced to aggravated life imprisonment, while 13 received prison terms ranging from 10 to 15 years.
