Turkey nabs suspected plotter of 2013 Reyhanli attack

Turkey's National Intelligence Organization (MIT) said on Wednesday it had captured the alleged plotter of the 2013 Reyhanli attack in the Syrian port city of Latakia.

Security analyst Murat Aslan explains the background of the 2013 Reyhanli bombing.

The MIT says it brought Yusuf Nazik to Turkey after a "pinpoint operation" and began interrogating him.

The May 2013 bombings in Reyhanli, near the Turkish border with Syria, left 53 people dead. 

According to MIT, Nazik, 34 had confessed during the interrogation.

He allegedly claimed that after receiving a tip off from Syrian regime intelligence, he scouted the crime scene prior to the attack and moved explosives from Syria to Turkey and procured two vehicles to move the explosives.

"I was not able to escape from the Turkish state," Nazik said in a video broadcasted on Turkish television. 

"I am calling out to my friends in Syria, turn back while there still is time. The Turkish state will protect us. I am calling out to the state of Syria, Turkish state will make you pay eventually," he added.

TRT World Turkey Analyst Yusuf Erim explains how Turkish Intelligence carried out the operation to capture the suspect behind 2013 Reyhanli bombing.

The MIT say during interrogation, Nazik reportedly gave out detailed information about Mihrac Ural, another suspect Turkey says was behind the Reyhanli attack.

On February 23, 2018, a Turkish court sentenced nine out of the 33 suspects with aggravated life imprisonment and 13 others with jail time ranging from 10 to 15 years.