12 May 2013

Car bombs kill dozens in Turkey

7:06 am on 12 May 2013

Twin car bombs have killed about 40 people and wounded many more in a Turkish town near the Syrian border.

The bombs ripped into crowded streets in Reyhanli on Saturday, scattering cars and concrete blocks in the town in Turkey's southern Hatay province, home to thousands of Syrian refugees.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility but Turkey said it suspected Syrian involvement, Reuters reports.

Syrian president Bashar al-Assad's administration was the "usual suspect" in the attacks, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc said.

"We know that the people taking refuge in Hatay have become targets for the Syrian regime," Mr Arinc said in comments broadcast on Turkish television. "We think of them as the usual suspects when it comes to planning such a horrific attack."

There was no comment from neighbouring Syria, where a two-year civil war forced some 300,000 refugees across the border into Turkey, which is struggling to keep up with the influx.

NATO member Turkey supports the uprising against President Assad and violence has crossed the border before, but not on the same scale.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said it was no coincidence the bombings came as diplomatic moves to end the Syrian conflict intensify.

Moscow and Washington last week announced a joint effort to bring government and rebels to an international conference, but a Russian official said on Saturday that there was already disagreement over who would take part and he doubted whether a meeting could happen this month.

Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan warned the toll could rise with many more seriously injured.

Mr Erdogan said the bombings might have been related to Turkey's own peace process with Kurdish militants of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), who began a withdrawal this week to end a three decade conflict.

But he said the blasts could also have been aimed at provoking sensitivities in the region that is home to many Syrian refugees.

In October, five Turkish civilians were killed in Akcakale when a mortar bomb fired from Syria landed on their house, prompting Turkey to fire back across the frontier.