Car explodes in Reyhanli close to Syria-Turkey border

Car explodes in Reyhanli close to Syria-Turkey border
A car has exploded in Reyhanli, Turkey, where in 2013 two car bombs detonated killing at least 50 people and injuring 140.
2 min read
05 July, 2019
The bombing happened close to the Syrian border [Twitter]
A car exploded in Reyhanli, Turkey - close to Syria - on Friday, raising fears of new security threats in the border city. 

Police and fireman arrived on the scene with preliminary reports saying three people have died, according to EHA News, while AFP reported a death toll of two.

Reyhanli, in Hatay province, is the closest Turkish town to a busy border crossing with Syria.

It was also the site of a previous car bomb explosion in 2013, which left at least 52 people dead and 140 injured.

In May, Turkey sentenced the man behind the bombing on the country's border with Syria to life in prison.

Yusuf Nazik, the Turkish national accused of masterminding the attack, was captured by Turkey's intelligence service in an operation in the coastal Syrian city of Latakia last year.

Turkish officials had for years suspected the involvement of the Syrian regime in the attack before apprehending Nazik.

Nazik reportedly confirmed the regime's "active role" in the bombings after confessing to planning the attack, saying he had acted as a middleman between a Syrian intelligence official and the bombers, local media reported last year.

Others, however, have claimed the bombings were perpetrated by the Islamic State group or Al-Nusra Front.

The Reyhanli bombings were the deadliest terror attack in Turkey's history before a double bombing at a 2015 pro-Kurdish political rally in the capital Ankara killed 109 people.

Thousands of Syrian refugees live in refugee camps in Reyhanli and the wider Hatay province. At least five Syrians were among those killed in the 2013 attack.

Agencies contributed to this report.

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