Turkish interior minister denies police caught bombers in Latakia

Turkish Interior Minister Muammer Guler denied on Wednesday the claims that Turkish Security Forces had detained eight people on a cross-border operation in Syria's Latakia, related with the blast at Cilvegozu border gate, in southern Turkish province of Hatay. "The said people were detained certainly as a result of previous investigations, while crossing the border. None of the members of Turkish security forces made such a cross-border operation in Syria," said Guler. Reminding that Turkish security examined camera footages and records of the face recognition center and border crossing, and the wire tappings, "We made identifications out of thousands of frames. Related connections were made and the investigation continued as the persons were identified one by one. I'd particularly like to point out that no operations were made on the other side, namely on Syrian side," told Guler. A vehicle full of explosives blew up at Cilvegozu border gate on February 11 at Reyhanl? district of southern Turkish province of Hatay. 17 people were killed and 30 others were wounded in the blast. Within the scope of the three-day operations Turkish security launched on March 7, eight were detained, two of whom organized the bombing and brought the vehicle to the crime scene. A Turkish newspaper claimed today 17 Turkish police officers aided by Syrian opposition militia conducted an operation in Latakia to detain bombing suspects.