A dolphin swims alongside ships and fishing boats at the Bosphorus in Arnavutkoy district of Istanbul, Turkiye on May 21, 2023. (Photo by Isa Terli/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Medics carry an injured at the explosion site in the busy center of Turkish capital, Ankara, Turkey, Sunday, March 13, 2016. The explosion is believed to have been caused by a car bomb that went off close to bus stops. News reports say the large explosion in the capital has caused several deaths and many casualties. (Photo by 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.

Suat Demir, a 52-year-old parter, smokes a cigarette after finishing his work day in Istanbul, Turkey, Thursday, October 2, 2025. (Photo by Emrah Gurel/AP Photo)

An injured supporter of Ivory Coast's Laurent Gbagbo reacts outside the premises of Hotel Golf, where Gbagbo is currently being held after his arrest, in Abidjan April 11, 2011. The trial of Laurent Gbagbo on charges of crimes against humanity during post-election violence, in which around 3,000 people were killed, will begin on January 28, 2016 at the International Criminal Court. (Photo by Reuters/Stringer)

Tourist Police sit in the shade on a road leading to the Coptic Cairo area on May 27, 2011 in Cairo, Egypt. Protests in January and February brought an end to 30 years of autocratic rule by President Hosni Mubarak who will now face trial. Food prices have doubled and youth unemployment stands at 30%. Tourism is yet to return to pre-uprising levels. (Photo by Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images)

Children look at Hares and Ducks ahead of the Turkey and dressed poultry auction at Chelford Market, northern England December 22, 2014. (Photo by Phil Noble/Reuters)

A man watches a classic Turkish movie from his car at a temporary drive-in theatre held in a shopping mall car park amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic on May 28, 2020 in Istanbul, Turkey. Istanbul and other major cities across Turkey have begun to ease restrictions and have started preparations for the reopening of some locations, shops and services as infection rates continue to drop. As of May 28, Turkey has reported 4,461 coronavirus-related deaths and 160,979 confirmed cases. (Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images)