In the evening of Tuesday, 21 April, an excavation in Poyrazköy, Beykoz, a district of Istanbul, weapons, bullets and ammunition were found.

The excavations are said to have been ordered according to a plan found at the educational İSTEK foundation, branches of which have previously been searched as part of the Ergenekon investigation.

The foundation, however, says that the land belongs to the military.

The Istanbul Anti-Terrorism branch started excavating the area following a tip-off in the morning.

Grenades, missile launchers, ammunition...

The weapons found are:

• 10 shoulder held missile launchers
• 10 hand grenades
• 10 hand grenade fuses
• 20 smoke bombs
• 250 grams C4 plastic explosives
• 19 illumination flares
• 3 demonstration bombs
• 800 bullets of different sizes

The weapons were found 1.5 metres under ground. Excavations are to continue today.

"Land never used by foundation"

In a written statement, the İSTEK foundation said that the land in question was bought by the foundation in 1992.

“The land is in a second-degree military area and a protected area, and the company has not been able to use it in any way. Entering and leaving the area requires the permission of the commander and the presence of soldiers. “

The foundation added that the Ministry of Defence had included the plot in the land that was to be nationalised in 2008, but that it was still used as a training ground for the Marine, and had not been used by the İSTEK foundation as of yet.

Meanwhile, a bag found on a plot of land in Florya, Istanbul, yesterday, contained 100 bullets for an AK-47 Kalashnikoff rifle. The bullets were taken to the Anti-Terrorism Branch. (BÇ/AG)

*This news item made use of hurriyet.com and ntvmsnbc.com