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.

A woman reacts as rescuers search for survivors through the rubble of collapsed buildings in Adana, on February 6, 2023 after a 7,8 magnitude earthquake struck the country's south-east. The combined death toll has risen to over 1,900 for Turkey and Syria after the region's strongest quake in nearly a century. Turkey's emergency services said at least 1,121 people died in the earthquake, with another 783 confirmed fatalities in Syria. (Photo by Can Erok/AFP Photo)

David Jackson (C), who voted for Donald Trump, has a discussion with Ryan Graves (L) and Anna Kaminski (R) visiting from Oamaha, Nebraska during a rally against the election of Republican Donald Trump as President of the United States in downtown Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S., November 12, 2016. (Photo by Clay Lomneth/Reuters)

A poster of former President Donald Trump sits in the lobby as guests arrive for the Oakland County Republican Party Lincoln Day Dinner on June 25, 2023 in Novi, Michigan. Trump is scheduled to speak at the dinner. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

A Christmas boot and gifts featuring the image of Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump are displayed ahead of Trump's campaign event in Waterloo, Iowa on December 19, 2023. (Photo by Scott Morgan/Reuters)

Debbie Barton from Blufton, South Carolina, asks supporters of Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump to sign a petition calling for one day of voting and the eradication of voting machines, ahead of a “Team Trump” event in Beaufort, South Carolina, U.S. February 21, 2024. (Photo by Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters)

Drag queen Brigitte Bandit performs during the Fight the Trump Takeover, one of several held across the nation against Texas Republicans’ efforts to redraw the state's 38 congressional districts, at the State Capitol in Austin, Texas on August 16, 2025. (Photo by Nuri Vallbona/Reuters)

Actors perform a scene in a film directed by Humam Husari in the rebel-held besieged town of Zamalka, in the Damascus suburbs, Syria September 19, 2016. (Photo by Bassam Khabieh/Reuters)