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| The Grand Turk |
| 9 detained in car bombings in Turkish border town |
| 2013-05-12 |
| 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 Sunday. Turkey's prime minister insisted the country wouldn't fall for a "dirty scenario" and be dragged into its neighbor's civil war. 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. Despite harsh accusations between Turkey and Syria signaling a sharp escalation of already high tensions between the two former allies, Recep Tayyip Erodgan insisted that Turkey would "maintain our extreme cool-headedness in the face of efforts and provocations to drag us into the bloody quagmire in Syria." Nine people were detained overnight, including the mastermind of the attack, and more were expected, officials said during a joint press conference in Hatay, near the border town of Reyhanli where the bombs struck. Syria denies involvement in the bombings. "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 expected, Guler said. |
| Posted by:tipper |
| #1 "...Recep Tayyip Erodgan insisted that Turkey would maintain our extreme cool-headedness in the face of efforts and provocations to drag us into the bloody quagmire in Syria.""" some turks will see this as cowardly |
| Posted by: lord garth 2013-05-12 13:04 |