Ten killed in fuel tanker explosion on Turkey-Syria border
Iran Press TV
Fri May 17, 2013 4:58PM GMT
At least 10 people have been killed in an explosion that rocked a village in the Turkish province of Hatay, near the country’s border with Syria.
The incident occurred on Friday in Tunisma village when suspected smugglers set ablaze an illegal fuel depot located in the basement of a three-story building.
The blaze reportedly triggered a strong explosion that also wounded three people.
According to Hatay governor's office, the suspects were trying to elude a crackdown by security forces that raided their shelter after a tip-off.
The Friday blast comes days after twin car bombs that killed 51 people in Hatay’s border town of Reyhanli on Saturday.
Ankara has accused Damascus of being behind the attack.
But Damascus held Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan responsible for the Reyhanli bombings as well as the ongoing unrest in Syria, blaming Turkey for facilitating the flow of arms, explosives, vehicles, militants and money across the border into the Arab country.
Damascus also stated that Turkey has planned the attacks to use them as a pretext to justify foreign intervention in Syria.
Meanwhile, Turkish protesters have staged several street protests demanding Erdogan to step down, noting that the outbreak of bloodshed was due to the Turkish government’s support for the armed militants in Syria.
MRS/SS
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