A terrorist suspect who allegedly ordered the deadly 2013 attack in the Turkish town of Reyhanlı was arrested after being extradited from the United States.
Mehmet Gezer was extradited by the U.S. to Turkey and handed over to authorities after he arrived at Istanbul Airport on June 30.
Gezer was taken to Ankara where a court ordered his arrest on charges of “deliberate killing” and “destroying the unity of the state and the integrity of the country.”
In addition to the deaths in the attack near Turkey’s border with Syria, the bombing in May 2013 damaged 912 buildings, 891 workplaces and 148 vehicles.
Yusuf Nazik, 34, confessed to playing a role in the deadly bombing after he was arrested by Turkish intelligence in the Syrian port city of Latakia on Sept. 12, 2018. He also said Gezer played a key role in the bombing.
On May 11, 2013, 53 people were killed when two car bombs exploded in downtown Reyhanlı, part of Hatay province. The bombings were the first terrorist attack in the history of the town, which thrived on trade with neighboring Syria before the war erupted there.
The town, which is home to a sizeable population of Syrian refugees who fled the brutal conflict, had largely recovered from the attacks that damaged 912 houses, 891 businesses and 148 vehicles, while the names of victims were given to parks, schools and streets across Reyhanlı.