AFP: Turkish authorities have launched an investigation into what they describe as an undeclared train shipment of weapons from Iran to Syria, local security sources said Tuesday. DIYARBAKIR, Turkey, May 29, 2007 (AFP) – Turkish authorities have launched an investigation into what they describe as an undeclared train shipment of weapons from Iran to Syria, local security sources said Tuesday.
The cargo was discovered in one of the cars of a freight train that was derailed Friday near the town of Genc in the southeast province of Bingol.
The derailment was caused by a landmine explosion blamed on separatist Kurdish rebels who are active in the region.
The cargo was declared as construction materials, but turned out to contain US-made rocket launchers and rifles, the sources said.
A prosecutor in Genc has launched an investigation into the incident, they said.
No other details were immediately available.
State-owned Turkish Railways runs both passenger and cargo services from Iran, Turkey’s eastern neighbor, to Syria, which borders Turkey to the south.
