Turkey slams Syria after car bombs kill 40 in border town of Reyhanli
Ankara points finger at Damascus, saying attack designed to pit town's residents against refugees
Two explosive-laden cars blew up in a small Turkish town near the border with Syria on Saturday, killing at least 40 people and wounding 100 others in one of the deadliest recent attacks in the volatile area.
Turkey's deputy prime minister said Syria's intelligence and military were "the usual suspects" behind the bombings, but said authorities were still investigating the attacks.
The bombings in the town of Reyhanli, just a few kilometres from the main border crossing into Syria, come amid increasingly bellicose criticism by Ankara of the regime in Damascus.
Turkish Interior Minister Muammer Guler said the explosions were caused by car bombs that blew up near the town hall and the post office in Reyhanli. Twenty-nine survivors were in a serious condition, he said.
"We know that the Syrian refugees have become a target of the Syrian regime," Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc said.
"Reyhanli was not chosen by coincidence."
Rescuers were hunting for possible survivors buried underneath the rubble of buildings destroyed by the blasts.