Istanbul battles deadly flooding, a Reyhanli attack suspect is reportedly captured in Syria, Turkey hands over the Kosovo force command to Italy, and Bulgaria approves a new joint border crossing deal with Turkey.

In this episode

• Heavy Rain in Istanbul Triggers Overnight Rescues and Evacuations
• Reyhanli Attack Suspect Mihrac Ural Reported Captured in Syria
• Turkey Hands Over NATO's Kosovo Force Command to Italy
• Bulgaria Approves Draft Deal With Turkey for New Joint Border Crossing

Transcript

Deniz: Good morning, everyone. Welcome to Turkey Brief Daily. It's Thursday, October 15. I'm Deniz.

Maya: And I'm Maya. Today: deadly flooding in Istanbul, a suspect in the Reyhanli attack reportedly captured in Syria, and Turkey hands over the Kosovo force command.

Deniz: Let's start with Istanbul. Heavy rain swept the city Tuesday night and into Wednesday morning. Two people have died. Search, rescue and evacuation operations continued overnight across several districts.

Maya: Two people dead. What happened exactly?

Deniz: In Ayazağa, Sarıyer, workers were reported trapped at a company on Kemerburgaz Street. Teams from AKUT, AFAD, the Coast Guard, firefighters and municipal police all responded. People stranded in flooded workplaces were brought out with trucks and heavy machinery. Some were picked up by Coast Guard boats.

Maya: Wow. And the wider damage?

Deniz: Flooded homes and businesses lost power on Mustafa Kemal Atatürk Street. In Arnavutköy, municipal teams used heavy machinery to move residents cut off by floodwaters. Even stray animals were trapped at a school there.

Maya: Right. Stay safe if you're in Istanbul today.

Deniz: Next — Syrian state news agency SANA reports that Mihrac Ural, also known as Ali Kiyali, was detained in Syria while trying to flee. He's named as a suspect in the Reyhanli attack.

Maya: That's a name Turkey has been tracking. What details do we have?

Deniz: Very few. SANA framed it as the apprehension of a wanted terrorism suspect. But there's little on the circumstances or who carried out the operation. The report was breaking news and subject to further updates. No confirmation from Turkish authorities yet.

Maya: So we wait for more.

Deniz: Exactly. But if confirmed, it's a big deal.

Maya: On to NATO. Turkey has handed over command of the Kosovo peacekeeping force, KFOR, to Italy. The ceremony was at KFOR headquarters in Pristina.

Deniz: Who was involved?

Maya: Turkish Major General Ozkan Ulutas passed command to Italian Major General Roberto Vergori. Kosovo's president and prime minister attended, along with Turkey's Chief of General Staff, Italy's defence minister and senior NATO officials. Ulutas called it an honour to lead KFOR.

Deniz: That's quite the handover. Turkey has played a major role in Kosovo.

Maya: Right. And one more quick item — Bulgaria's government approved a draft agreement with Turkey for a new joint border crossing called Kapikule/Kapitan Andreevo-North. It would sit north of the existing crossing.

Deniz: So another gate at the Turkey-EU border.

Maya: Exactly. A bilateral commission will work out the details — road routes, lanes, cargo types, operating hours.

Deniz: That's all for today. You can read the full stories at turkiybrief dot com.

Maya: Thanks for listening. We'll see you tomorrow.

Voices in this episode are AI-generated. Stories are based on Turkey Brief's reporting.