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Turkey has said it is investigating whether another country, possibly Iran, was involved in an explosion that killed nine people near Syria earlier this week.
The announcement reflects concerns about spillover from the war in Syria as well as increasing tensions with Iran, a regional power that supports Syrian President Bashar Assad. Turkey blamed a Kurdish rebel group, the PKK, for the attack in the southern city of Gaziantep.
In a separate incident near the Iraqi border, Turkish media reported Thursday that five soldiers and 16 Kurdish militants died in a nighttime ambush of a military convoy and an ensuing operation by security forces. At least one more Turkish soldier was killed Thursday when militants launched fresh attacks on two army posts in Turkeys southeast, and the army killed at least five militants in the town of Semdinli near the Iraqi border late Thursday.
Some Turkish officials allege there are links between the PKK, which denied it carried out the bombing, and Syrian intelligence. Turkey backs the Syrian opposition in its war against the Assad regime, and relations between Ankara and Damascus have deteriorated sharply since the conflict began.
In an interview Wednesday night with CNN-Turk television, Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc left open the possibility that Iran might be a culprit in Mondays bombing near a police station in Gaziantep. Its not just about Syria connected to it or limited to it, he said. All foreign elements who may be involved in our geography.
Asked whether that included Iran, he said: It could be Iran, it could be here or it could be there.
Turkey and Iran expanded trade in past years, but differences over the Syrian conflict and Turkeys move to host a NATO radar that would send a warning if Iran fires missiles have led to increasingly tense rhetoric.
Hossein Naghavi, spokesman for Irans parliamentary committee on national security and foreign policy, suggested that Turkey was jeopardizing its own security with its Syria policy and that the bombing in Gaziantep was the result of terrorist groups that were reacting to its position.
In July, Turkish media reported that a dozen people suspected of links to the Al-Qaeda network were detained in southern cities, including Gaziantep. The West worries that Syria could become a new foothold for insurgents inspired by Al-Qaeda who are currently fighting on the oppositions side.
In an analysis published just before the Gaziantep bombing, Stratfor, a U.S. research center, said Turkey faced a possible backlash.
If Ankara is expanding its involvement in Syria, it will do so in a measured fashion because it will be fearful of pushback from the Syrian regime and Iran via the Kurds, the report said.
THE DAILY STAR :: News :: Middle East :: Turkey probes possible Iranian link to deadly bombing
The announcement reflects concerns about spillover from the war in Syria as well as increasing tensions with Iran, a regional power that supports Syrian President Bashar Assad. Turkey blamed a Kurdish rebel group, the PKK, for the attack in the southern city of Gaziantep.
In a separate incident near the Iraqi border, Turkish media reported Thursday that five soldiers and 16 Kurdish militants died in a nighttime ambush of a military convoy and an ensuing operation by security forces. At least one more Turkish soldier was killed Thursday when militants launched fresh attacks on two army posts in Turkeys southeast, and the army killed at least five militants in the town of Semdinli near the Iraqi border late Thursday.
Some Turkish officials allege there are links between the PKK, which denied it carried out the bombing, and Syrian intelligence. Turkey backs the Syrian opposition in its war against the Assad regime, and relations between Ankara and Damascus have deteriorated sharply since the conflict began.
In an interview Wednesday night with CNN-Turk television, Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc left open the possibility that Iran might be a culprit in Mondays bombing near a police station in Gaziantep. Its not just about Syria connected to it or limited to it, he said. All foreign elements who may be involved in our geography.
Asked whether that included Iran, he said: It could be Iran, it could be here or it could be there.
Turkey and Iran expanded trade in past years, but differences over the Syrian conflict and Turkeys move to host a NATO radar that would send a warning if Iran fires missiles have led to increasingly tense rhetoric.
Hossein Naghavi, spokesman for Irans parliamentary committee on national security and foreign policy, suggested that Turkey was jeopardizing its own security with its Syria policy and that the bombing in Gaziantep was the result of terrorist groups that were reacting to its position.
In July, Turkish media reported that a dozen people suspected of links to the Al-Qaeda network were detained in southern cities, including Gaziantep. The West worries that Syria could become a new foothold for insurgents inspired by Al-Qaeda who are currently fighting on the oppositions side.
In an analysis published just before the Gaziantep bombing, Stratfor, a U.S. research center, said Turkey faced a possible backlash.
If Ankara is expanding its involvement in Syria, it will do so in a measured fashion because it will be fearful of pushback from the Syrian regime and Iran via the Kurds, the report said.
THE DAILY STAR :: News :: Middle East :: Turkey probes possible Iranian link to deadly bombing
