Turkiye's intelligence agency has captured a key suspect from a deadly 2013 attack near the Syrian border while he was attempting to flee to Europe, state media said on Thursday (October 1, 2026), citing a security source.
The twin bombing in the southern Reyhanli district, which killed 53 people, was the deadliest attack in Turkiye linked to fallout from Syria's civil war, which began two years earlier.
Omar al-Khatib, a Syrian who was the subject of an Interpol red notice, is believed to have coordinated between the attackers and intelligence officials loyal to Syria's then president Bashar al-Assad, Anadolu news agency reported.
Turkiye's National Intelligence Organisation (MIT) detained al-Khatib as he prepared to leave for Europe by sea, Anadolu said, without saying exactly where or when he was caught.
Ankara blamed Turkish extremist groups allegedly backed by the Syrian government for the Reyhanli attack, accusations Damascus denied.
Before the attack, he crossed into Turkiye to scout potential locations where it could be carried out, Turkish media reports said.
He also allegedly supplied the device used in the attack to the perpetrators. The participants were reportedly paid by the Syrian regime at the time, the reports said.
Turkiye was a strong supporter of Syrian rebels seeking to overthrow Assad and has hosted millions of Syrians who fled the conflict.
Since Assad's ouster nearly two years ago, Ankara has built close ties with Syria's new leadership under President Ahmed al-Sharaa.
