Otokar Signs Major Armored Vehicle Export Contract

(MENAFN) Türkiye’s National Intelligence Organization, MIT, has detained Omer al-Khatib, a Syrian national wanted over the 2013 Reyhanli terror attack that killed 53 people, according to security sources.

Al-Khatib was reportedly captured while preparing to leave Türkiye by sea for Europe. He was wanted under an Interpol Red Notice and is accused of helping plan and organize the attack in the southern Turkish town.

According to the sources, al-Khatib also served as a link between the perpetrators and intelligence officials associated with Bashar al-Assad’s regime.

In 2013, al-Khatib reportedly brought Yusuf Nazik, who was involved in planning operations targeting Türkiye, together with Kifah Melhem. The meetings were used to determine details of the attack.

Al-Khatib and Nazik entered Türkiye through Hatay in February 2013, several months before the bombing, and identified locations that could be targeted. The plan was subsequently approved by Melhem, who was based in Latakia at the time, according to the sources.

Before the attack in May 2013, al-Khatib and Temir Dukanci reportedly traveled to the military intelligence branch in Latakia, where they obtained materials intended for the explosive device.

Dukanci and Nazik later transported the vehicle loaded with explosives to Reyhanli, where the bomb was detonated remotely.

Following the attack, al-Khatib reportedly helped take Dukanci and Nazik, who had escaped to Syria, to the Latakia military intelligence branch.

The security sources said al-Khatib and other individuals involved in carrying out the attack received financial rewards from the Bashar al-Assad regime.

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