Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar confirmed that a mine had been found in the Bosphorus Strait, and said that teams from the "underwater defense" forces of the navy continue to work cautiously to neutralize it.
The Turkish Ministry of Defense had announced the intervention of the competent teams to deal with an object similar to a mine off the coast of the Bosphorus Strait, after a commercial ship spotted an object resembling a mine off the coast of the Bosphorus Strait during the hours of Saturday morning.
She explained that the specialized teams secured the vicinity of the suspicious object, and proceeded to deal with it to neutralize it, while the teams continued to search for other potential mine-like objects in other locations in the strait, and a helicopter was participating in the search from the air.
For its part, the General Directorate of Coastal Safety of the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure announced, in a statement, the suspension of the movement of ships in the Bosphorus Strait in both directions for security reasons.
The Directorate General of Coastal Safety stated that the fishermen spotted the body near the mooring area at the top of the Bosphorus Strait - into which the Black Sea flows - and reported it to the coast guard.
The incident comes days after a Russian warning that several mines have drifted away from Ukrainian ports.
Turkey shares borders on the Black Sea with Russia and Ukraine.
Russia's main intelligence agency said on Monday that several mines had drifted into the sea after disconnecting from cables near Ukrainian ports, a claim Kyiv denied as disinformation and an attempt to seal off parts of the sea.