Turkey admits Reyhanli was attacked by al-Qaeda
Turkey’s Ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Tacan Ildem, says the May 11, 2013, Reyhanli attack was carried out by al-Qaeda.
On May 11, 2013, Reyhanli, a Turkish town on the border with Syria, was attacked with twin car bombs, leaving behind an official toll of 52 deaths and 146 injuries.
But the mystery of who attacked Reyhanli, marking the worst terrorist attack this country has ever seen, remained controversial. Here is why:
On May 25, 2013, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused the Syrian regime of being behind this attack. Also, referring to a visit by a group of main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) deputies to a Damascus meeting with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Erdogan said in an accusatory tone, “We have documents in our hands that clearly prove that those who took the CHP members to Assad are those who were directly involved in the Reyhanli attack.”
The indictment about this attack also pinpointed that THKP/C Acilciler (Urgency Group, a splinter faction of the Turkish People’s Liberation Party/Front which has had no known activity for the past two decades at least), which supposedly has direct connection to the Syrian intelligence service Al-Mukhabarat, carried out this attack. The Reyhanli indictment contends Mihrac Ural, the leader of the Acilciler, organized the attack with Syrian intelligence. They were initially planning to carry out this attack in the capital, Ankara, roughly 700 kilometers (434 miles) from this border area. The trial is still pending.
