Turkey seizes 1,200 rocket heads near Syria border

Weapons apparently meant for Syrian rebel groups; ‘Al-Qaeda cannot find shelter in Turkey,’ says Turkish PM Erdogan

By AP 7 November 2013, 5:31 pm

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Rebels from the al-Qaeda affiliated Jabhat al-Nusra sit on a truck full of ammunition, at Taftanaz air base, which was captured by the rebels, in Idlib province, northern Syria in 2013 (photo credit: AP/Edlib News Network, ENN)

ANKARA — Turkish authorities have seized 1,200 rocket heads after searching a truck in a region close to the Syrian border.

The weapons were discovered in Adana, 200 kilometers (125 miles) from the Turkish-Syrian border, by officials looking to cut down on drug smuggling, provincial governor Huseyin Avni Cos told reporters Thursday.

Cos said an investigation into the weapons has been launched. The weapons are believed to be going to neighboring Syria, which has a three-year-old civil war that the UN says has left at least 100,000 people dead and forced millions of Syrians from their homes.

Turkey, which shares a 910-kilometer (566-mile) border with Syria, is a major hub for rebels fighting against Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime. Turkey has also been accused of harboring rebels associated with al-Qaeda who operate across the border in Syria, including the Nusra Front.

At a news conference in Stockholm on Thursday, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan insisted his country had no tolerance for extremists.