WarSclerotic

Turkey blames Syria for deadly twin blasts; Damascus rejects ‘false accusations’ – Middle East – Israel News | Haaretz Daily Newspaper.

Turkish authorities arrest nine citizens in connection with bombings that killed more than 40 and wounded some 100; Turkish FM says attack had nothing to do with refugees, everything to do with Assad regime.

Aftermath of car bomb blast in Turkish town of Reyhanli, mere kilometers from Syria border, May 11, 2013. Photo by AFP

Turkey said on Sunday it believed fighters loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad were behind twin car bombings that killed 46 people and wounded 100 more in a Turkish border town, but Damascus swiftly denied the allegations.

Authorities have detained nine Turkish citizens in connection to the attack, Deputy Prime Minister Besir Atalay said on Sunday. Interior Minister Muammer Guler, who was also speaking on Turkish television, said the attacks on Saturday were carried out by a group known to the Turkish authorities and with direct links to Syria’s Mukhabarat intelligence agency.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said those involved in the bombings in the border town Reyhanli on Saturday were thought also to have carried out an attack on the Syrian coastal town of Banias a week ago, in which fighters backing Assad were reported to have killed at least 62 people.

“The attack has nothing to do with the Syrian refugees in Turkey, it’s got everything to do with the Syrian regime,” Davutoglu said in an interview on TRT television.

“We should be careful against ethnic provocations in Turkey and Lebanon after the Banias massacre,” he said.

Syrian Information Minister Omran Zubi denied any Syrian involvement and rejected what he called “false accusations”.

“This is not the behavior of the Syrian government,” he said, adding:  “The Turkish government should be held responsible for whathappened … It has turned the border areas into a center forinternational terrorism. [Prime Mnister] Recep Tayyip Erdogan has to step down. He must not build hisglory on the blood of Turks and Syrians.”

Zoubi’s comments were the first official Syrian response since Saturday’s bombings in Reyhanli. Immediately following the blast, Turkey’s deputy prime minister said Syria’s intelligence and military were “the usual suspects” behind the bombings, but that authorities were still investigating the attacks.

This entry was posted on May 12, 2013 at 12:44 PM and is filed under Uncategorized. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.