People attend a wounded man after an explosion in Istikla Street in central Istanbul, Turkey on November 13, 2022. According to governor Ali Yerlikaya, an explosion that occurred at roughly 4.20 p.m. local time has resulted in losses and injuries. Emergency personnel were dispatched to the incident. (Photo by Ihlas News Agency (IHA) via Reuters)

Female military officers of Gendarmerie Special Public Security Command (JOAK) attend an exercise in Ankara, Turkey on March 6, 2020. Female gendarmeries give “There is nothing that a woman cannot achieve if she wants”. message with their difficult tasks ahead of the International Women's Day. (Photo by Mustafa Murat Kaynak/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Medics help a rescued miner after an explosion and fire at a coal mine killed at least 17 miners and left up to 300 workers trapped underground, in Soma, in western Turkey, Tuesday, May 13, 2014, a Turkish official said. Twenty people were rescued from the mine but one later died in the hospital, Soma administrator Mehmet Bahattin Atci told reporters. The town is 250 kilometers (155 miles) south of Istanbul. The death toll was expected to rise. (Photo by AP Photo/Depo Photos)

Cannabis cigarettes at the growing facility of the Tikun Olam company on March 7, 2011 near the northern city of Safed, Israel. In conjunction with Israel's Health Ministry, Tikon Olam are currently distributing cannabis for medicinal purposes to over 1800 people in Israel.

People protect themselves behind a trash can as anti-riot olice fires water cannon to disperse thousands of people demonstrating following the death of Berkin Elvan, a teenage boy wounded in mass anti-government demonstrations last year, on March 11, 2014 near the Middle East Technical University (ODTU) in Ankara. Elvan's story – he spent 269 days in a coma – gripped the nation and became a symbol of the heavy-handed tactics used by police to reign in the biggest demonstrations against Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan since he came to power in 2003. (Photo by Adem Altan/AFP Photo)

Contestants prepares ahead of the first-ever Miss Trans Israel beauty pageant in Tel Aviv, Israel May 27, 2016. The winner will represent Israel in Miss Trans Star International contest in Barcelona in September. (Photo by Amir Cohen/Reuters)

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 handout TV grab made available by the Demiroren News Agency (DHA) on September 12, 2020, shows a freak sandstorm sweeping over Polatli, in Ankara, on September 12, 2020. A freak sandstorm hit Ankara on September 12, 2020, the Turkish capital's mayor said, as officials said six people were injured after strong winds. (Photo by Handout/DHA via AFP Photo)