UPDATE - 92 irregular migrants held in Turkey

UPDATES WITH OPERATION IN OSMANIYE; CHANGES HEADLINE, LEDE

By Muzaffer Cagliyaner and Safak Yel

OSMANIYE / IZMIR, Turkey (AA) - As many as 92 irregular migrants were held in Turkey on Tuesday, security sources said.

The migrants, including children, were found hidden in three containers in a warehouse of a factory in the Torbali district of Izmir province, said a source who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

Gendarmerie command teams acted on a tip that some containers in the warehouse will be used for illegal crossings and found foreign nationals hiding behind food parcels in the containers.

The migrants are said to be in good health.

The source said that the containers were prepared to be sent to Italy.

Identification procedures for the irregular migrants were in progress, it said.

Police teams in the southern Osmaniye province caught one more irregular migrant, a Syrian national who was deported once before, according to another source.

He was identified only by the initials B.D. and referred to the provincial migration office, the source added.

Turkey has been a key transit point for asylum seekers aiming to cross into Europe to start new lives, especially those fleeing war and persecution.

*Writing by Havva Kara Aydin