Turkey has arrested one of the prime suspects responsible for the twin car bombings that killed at least 51 people in a city near the Syrian border, said the city's governor on Friday.

"We captured one of the chief actors involved in the incident at 11:40 pm last night," said Celalettin Lekesiz, governor of southeastern Turkey's Hatay city where the bombs went off.

"There are still two other major suspects at large," he added in televised remarks.

The man, who allegedly purchased the vehicles used in the bombings, was caught trying to cross the border into Syria along with his two accomplices.