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Car bombs in Turkey kill four near Syrian border Turkey blames Syria after car bombs kill dozens near border
(about 3 hours later)
Two car bombs exploded in the Turkish town of Reyhanli near the Syrian border on Saturday, killing four people and injuring 18 others, Turkey's interior minister said. The Turkish government has blamed Syria for the deaths of at least 40 people in two car bomb blasts in a town near the border with the country.
"Two cars exploded in front of the municipality building and the post office in Reyhanli," Muammer Guler told reporters in comments broadcast on Turkish television. The two bombs exploded within 15 minutes of each other in the centre of Reyhanli, which has become a hub for refugees leaving Syria and rebels entering it.
"According to the initial information we received, four people were killed and 18 people were wounded. Of course we're worried that the numbers could rise." The deputy prime minister, Bulent Arinc, said Syrian refugees were a frequent target of the Syrian regime. "Reyhanli was not chosen by coincidence. Our thoughts are that their intelligence agency and armed organisations are the usual suspects in planning and carrying out of such devilish plans," he said. Arinc added that Turkey would "do whatever is necessary" if it were proven that Syria was behind the attack.
There was no indication who might have been responsible for the attack. The Turkish prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, earlier also raised the possibility that the bombings may be related to Turkey's peace talks with Kurdish rebels meant to end a nearly 30-year-old conflict.
The border area of Reyhanli has been attacked before. In February, 13 people were killed and more than 20 others wounded when a mortar round landed close to a border gate. Syrian mortar rounds have fallen over the border before, but if the explosion turns out to be linked to Syria it would be by far the biggest death toll in Turkey related to its neighbour's civil war.
Syria shares more than 500 miles of border with Turkey, which has supported the Syrian rebel cause. Ankara has allowed its territory to be used as a logistics base and staging centre for Syrian insurgents.
The foreign minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, vowed from Berlin that Turkey would act. "Those who for whatever reason attempt to bring the external chaos into our country will get a response," he said.
The main Syrian opposition group, the Syrian National Coalition, condemned the "terrorist attacks" in Reyhanli, saying it stood together with the "Turkish government and the friendly Turkish people".
The coalition sees "these heinous terrorist acts as an attempt to take revenge on the Turkish people and punish them for their honourable support for the Syrian people", it said.
Reyhanli is a centre for aid and weapon trafficking between Turkey and Syria, as well as for Syrian rebel activity. Apart from refugees living in camps, many Syrians escaping the civil war have also rented houses in the town.
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