WASHINGTON: The US ambassador to Turkey strongly condemned the "vicious attack" in a small Turkish town near the Syrian border Saturday that killed at least 40 people and wounded 100 more.
"On behalf of the United States, I offer our deepest condolences to the families and friends of the dozens of victims of today's murderous attack in Reyhanli," Francis Ricciardone said in a statement.
"The United States strongly condemns today's vicious attack, and stands with the people and government of Turkey to identify the perpetrators and bring them to justice," he continued.
Two explosive-laden cars blew up in the town of Reyhanli, just a few kilometers from the main border crossing into Syria.
Turkey's deputy prime minister has pointed the finger at the government of President Bashar al-Assad's as possibly being behind the attack, the deadliest in Turkey since the beginning of the conflict in neighboring Syria.
"With their secret services and armed groups, they are certainly one of the usual suspects to instigate and carry out such an outrageous plot," Bulent Arinc told Turkish NTV television.
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, on a visit to Berlin, said it was "not a coincidence" that these bombings occurred as international diplomatic efforts to solve the Syrian crisis were intensifying.
The United States and Russia, one of the few remaining supporters of Assad's regime, pledged this week to relaunch efforts to solve the conflict, which the United Nations estimates has killed 70,000 people since March 2011.
<Center><b><i>Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2013</b></i></center>
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