Ukrainian servicemen patrol near the humanitarian aid center in Avdiivka, Ukraine, Saturday, February 4, 2017. Fighting in eastern Ukraine sharply escalated this week. Ukraine's military said several soldiers were killed over the past day in shelling in eastern Ukraine, where fighting has escalated over the past week. (Photo by Evgeniy Maloletka/AP Photo)

Afghan paraglider Leeda Ozori, 21, walks after practicing in Kabul, Afghanistan September 14, 2015. She is one of a group of young Afghans taking to the skies of a capital where military helicopters and surveillance balloons are a far more familiar sight. Women in Afghanistan's conservative Muslim society are increasingly entering areas such as education, sports and the workplace, but most still wear the head-to-toe garment, the burqa. (Photo by Mohammad Ismail/Reuters)

Caoimhe Cooburn-Gray poses for a picture on St. Patrick's day in Dublin, Ireland March 17, 2016. Saint Patrick's Day is a cultural and religious celebration held on 17 March, the traditional death date of Saint Patrick (c. AD 385–461), the foremost patron saint of Ireland. Celebrations generally involve public parades and festivals, céilithe, and the wearing of shamrocks, as well as green or orange attire. (Photo by Clodagh Kilcoyne/Reuters)

A farmer uses a GoPro as he takes a picture of his carabao kneeling during the annual Carabao Festival in Pulilan, Bulacan in northern Philippines May 14, 2015. Water buffalos, locally known as carabaos, are led during a parade in the streets of the town to honour its patron saint San isidro Labrador, and carabaos will kneel in front of the church to give thanks for a year-long bountiful harvest. (Photo by Lorgina Minguito/Reuters)

In this Saturday, September 5, 2015, photo, three women in costumes look at sea life swimming above them during a private party held at the Georgia Aquarium as part of Dragon Con in Atlanta. The convention draws fans from around the country to take part in sci-fi and fantasy costume contests, a massive parade through downtown Atlanta and educational seminars about science and costume making. (Photo by Ron Harris/AP Photo)

Participants of the Cologne Pride rally pose in front of the Cathedral in Cologne, Germany, Sunday, July 3, 2022. This year's Christopher Street Day (CSD) Gay Parade with thousands of demonstrators for LGBTQ rights is the first after the coronavirus pandemic to be followed by hundreds of thousands of spectators in the streets of Cologne. (Photo by Martin Meissner/AP Photo)

In one of the deadliest attacks in Turkey in recent years, two car bombs exploded near the border with Syria on Saturday, killing 43 and wounding 140 others. Turkish officials blamed the attack on a group linked to Syria, and a deputy prime minister called the neighboring country's intelligence service and military "the usual suspects."

The blasts, which were 15 minutes apart and hit the town of Reyhanli's busiest street, raised fears that Turkey could increasingly be drawn into Syria's brutal civil war.

Turkey already hosts Syria's political opposition and rebel commanders, has given shelter to hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees and in the past retaliated against Syrian shells that landed in Turkey.

“The nuclear football (also known as the atomic football, the president's emergency satchel, the button, the black box, or just the football) is a briefcase, the contents of which are to be used by the President of the United States of America to authorize a nuclear attack while away from fixed command centers, such as the White House Situation Room. It functions as a mobile hub in the strategic defense system of the United States. It is a metallic Zero Halliburton briefcase carried in a black leather “jacket”. The package weighs around 45 pounds (20 kilograms). A small antenna protrudes from the bag near the handle”. – Wikipedia

Photo: A U.S. Military officer carries the “football”, which carries nuclear launch codes, on South Lawn after returning with U.S. President George W. Bush to the White House January 7, 2002 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)