Sarin gas in Adana

Saturday, June 1 Obviously the big story in Turkey today is about the riots which have engulfed the country since Friday, but there was something else that appeared in the news a couple of days ago which also merits comment. According to this story in the Turkish daily Radikal, more than four pounds (2 kilos) of Sarin gas was found in the homes of twelve individuals in the southern city of Adana. According to Turkish security forces, the suspects (twelve were arrested, five were later released) are connected to al-Nusra, an al-Qaeda linked organization that is fighting the Assad regime in Syria. Adana is home to an American military base. 6/4/13 Update: French officials claim that the Syrian government has used Sarin gas a number of times, which--given Turkish-Syrian tensions escalating during the course of the Syrian civil war--obviously throws some doubt onto the al-Qaida/al-Nusra angle and, perhaps, implicates the Syrian government here. *** More links, analysis and photos can be found, comme toujours, in the Borderlands Lounge.