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Large weapons shipment seized in S Turkey


Nov 9, 2013, Press TV

A large shipment of weapons has been seized by Turkish security forces in the southern province of Adana near Syria border, Press TV reports.

Turkish police confiscated a truck carrying rocket heads, bazookas, missiles, bombs and guns at an industrial site on Thursday.

The driver of the truck and eight workers have been arrested in this regard.

The truck was stopped on suspicion of carrying drugs, but police were surprised after the discovery of heavy weaponry including 1,200 warheads.

“These are not humanitarian aid. It is possible that these materials were being transported to a state or a terrorist organization,” Adana Governor Huseyin Avni Cos told reporters on Friday.

When asked where the weapons were headed, he said, “Turkey’s south … Syria.”

Police say investigations are underway into the shipment.

Turkish media outlets claim the arms were being sent to the al-Qaeda-affiliated group the al-Nusra Front, which is fighting against the Syrian government.

On November 2, Turkish authorities seized a large quantity of chemicals on the country’s border with Syria, adding that the chemicals “could be transformed into weapons.”

Turkey’s army said in a statement that a convoy of three vehicles attempted to smuggle the chemicals across the border near the southeastern Turkish town of Reyhanli.

Paramilitary police were forced to shoot out the tires of the vehicles to stop them, arresting one of the drivers while the other suspects fled in the direction of Syria.

The statement added that a large amount of sulfur was part of the chemical haul.

Syria has been gripped by deadly unrest since 2011. According to statistics compiled by the United Nations, more than 100,000 people have been killed and millions displaced in the turmoil.

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