9 Turks said with links to Syrian intelligence nabbed for car blasts
Source: Agencies |
May 13, 2013, Monday
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NINE Turkish citizens believed to have links to the Syrian intelligence agency have been detained in connection with twin car bombings that shattered a Turkish border town, officials said yesterday, as Syria rejected allegations it was behind one of the deadliest attacks in Turkey in years.
The bombings left 46 people dead and marked the biggest incident of violence across the border since the start of Syria's bloody civil war, raising fears of Turkey being pulled deeper into the conflict.
Harsh accusations from both sides signaled a sharp rise in already high tensions between the two former allies, with Turkey vowing a strong response and Syria branding Turkey's prime minister "a butcher."
"This incident was carried out by an organization ... which is in close contact to pro-regime groups in Syria and I say this very clearly, with the Syrian mukhabarat," said Turkish Interior Minister Muammer Guler. He did not name the organization.
Among the nine people detained overnight was the mastermind of the attack and more were likely, Guler said.
"We have determined that some of them were involved in the planning, in the exploration and in the hiding of the vehicles," he said.
Deputy Prime Minister Besir Atalay said Turkish authorities determined that the nine were involved through their "testimonies and confessions," but did not elaborate during a joint press conference in Hatay, near the border town of Reyhanli where the bombs struck.
Saturday's twin bombings, 15 minutes apart, damaged some 850 buildings in the town, a hub for Syrian refugees and rebels just across the border from Syria's Idlib province. It also wounded dozens of people, including 50 who remained hospitalized yesterday.
Syria and Turkey became adversaries early on during the uprising against Syrian President Bashar Assad that erupted in March 2011. Since then, Turkey has firmly sided with the Syrian opposition, hosting its leaders along with rebel commanders and providing refuge to hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees.
Earlier in Damascus, Syrian Information Minister Omran al-Zoubi rejected Turkey's charges that Assad's regime was behind the bombs.
"Syria didn't and will never undertake such acts because our values don't allow us to do this," al-Zoubi said.
The bombings left 46 people dead and marked the biggest incident of violence across the border since the start of Syria's bloody civil war, raising fears of Turkey being pulled deeper into the conflict.
Harsh accusations from both sides signaled a sharp rise in already high tensions between the two former allies, with Turkey vowing a strong response and Syria branding Turkey's prime minister "a butcher."
"This incident was carried out by an organization ... which is in close contact to pro-regime groups in Syria and I say this very clearly, with the Syrian mukhabarat," said Turkish Interior Minister Muammer Guler. He did not name the organization.
Among the nine people detained overnight was the mastermind of the attack and more were likely, Guler said.
"We have determined that some of them were involved in the planning, in the exploration and in the hiding of the vehicles," he said.
Deputy Prime Minister Besir Atalay said Turkish authorities determined that the nine were involved through their "testimonies and confessions," but did not elaborate during a joint press conference in Hatay, near the border town of Reyhanli where the bombs struck.
Saturday's twin bombings, 15 minutes apart, damaged some 850 buildings in the town, a hub for Syrian refugees and rebels just across the border from Syria's Idlib province. It also wounded dozens of people, including 50 who remained hospitalized yesterday.
Syria and Turkey became adversaries early on during the uprising against Syrian President Bashar Assad that erupted in March 2011. Since then, Turkey has firmly sided with the Syrian opposition, hosting its leaders along with rebel commanders and providing refuge to hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees.
Earlier in Damascus, Syrian Information Minister Omran al-Zoubi rejected Turkey's charges that Assad's regime was behind the bombs.
"Syria didn't and will never undertake such acts because our values don't allow us to do this," al-Zoubi said.
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