Multiple blasts kill 40 Turks in border town

Multiple blasts kill 40 Turks in border town
Sat May 11, 2013 21:19:54

A series of explosions jolted a Turkish town near the border with Syria on Saturday killing at least 40 people and injuring more than 100 others.

Turkish Interior Minister Muammar Guler told local media outlets that several car bombs rocked Reyhanli town in the southern province of Hatay.

 

The minister said that two vehicles packed with explosives detonated near the town’s post office and municipality.

 

Some 29 injured were in critical conditions, Guler also said.

 

Reports say that rescuers were at the scene looking for possible survivors buried under the rubble of destroyed buildings.

 

The municipality building suffered major damage, local media said, adding several cars were totally wrecked in the blasts that also caused a power failure in the area around the town.


"We are going to launch an inquiry into all this, so that everything becomes clear," Guler said, adding that the regional governor was sent to Reyhanli to “put the necessary security measures in place."

 

Earlier reports said four blasts shook the town, which is located only a few kilometers from the Syria border.

 

In February, seventeen people were killed and 30 others injured after a minibus exploded at a crossing on Turkey's border with Syria near Reyhanli.

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