Syrian authorities have captured Mihraç Ural, a suspect in the 2013 Reyhanlı bombings that killed 53 people in southern Türkiye, Syria's state news agency SANA reported Thursday.
Syria's General Intelligence Directorate reportedly detained Ural as he attempted to escape across the border. according to the agency.
He is among the defendants in the case involving the bombings that struck Reyhanlı, a town in Türkiye's southern Hatay province near the Syrian border, in May 2013.
Two car bombs exploded in Reyhanlı, killing 53 people, including five children, and wounding scores of others. Court records showed that 912 homes, 891 businesses and 148 vehicles were damaged in the blasts.
According to an indictment prepared by the Adana Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, Mihraç Ural planned the attack in coordination with the intelligence service of the ousted Assad regime.
Judges said the explosives were smuggled from Syria into Türkiye through five separate maritime shipments using fishing boats. The materials were allegedly concealed in sacks and transported under the supervision of individuals linked to Syrian intelligence under Bashar Assad.
The court found that the defendants acted in coordination with Syrian intelligence operatives and played central roles in preparing the attack. Testimony and evidence presented during the proceedings indicated that those involved were promised large sums of money in exchange for carrying out logistical and operational tasks.
Ural fled Türkiye for Syria in 1982 after being imprisoned over his involvement in illegal organizational activities.
He has also been identified as a key figure responsible for the 2013 massacres in the villages of Banyas and Bayda along Syria's Mediterranean coast.
Following the outbreak of the Arab Spring and anti-government protests in Syria, Ural reactivated the Popular Front for the Liberation of the Sanjak of Iskenderun-Syrian Resistance, a sectarian-based militant organization, in early 2012.
In Syria, he reportedly developed close ties with Jamil Assad, the brother of former Syrian leader Hafez Assad, through his wife, Malak Fadel, who had family connections to the Assad dynasty. Those relationships reportedly helped Ural gain considerable wealth and influence in the country.
His capture follows the arrest of his associate Cemal Trablusi, whose detention was announced by Syria's Interior Ministry on Oct. 4.
The ministry said counterterrorism units had detained Trablusi, who reportedly served as the Aleppo representative and office director of the Mukawama Suriya organization.