Several nations and international organizations, including the United States, the European Union, the United nations and the NATO, have strongly condemned Saturday's deadly car bombings which killed at least 46 people in the Turkish town of Reyhanli near the border with Syria.
Denouncing the bombings and reiterating its continued support to the government and people of Turkey, the United States offered its condolences to the vitims' families and wished the injured a speedy recovery.
"This awful news strikes an especially personal note for all of us given how closely we work in partnership with Turkey, and how many times Turkey's been a vital interlocutor at the center of my work as Secretary of State these last three months," U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said in a statement.
EU Foreign Policy chief Catherine Ashton also condemned the bomb attacks, saying: "The EU, which condemns terrorist attacks in all their forms, expresses its full solidarity with the Government and people of Turkey at this difficult time. It stands ready to help in any way needed."
Meanwhile, U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon condemned the bomb attacks "in the strongest terms" in a statement issued by his spokesperson, and expressed hopes that the perpetrators of the attack will be swiftly identified and brought to justice.
"The Secretary-General condemns all acts of terrorism and reiterates that no cause or grievance ever justifies the targeting of civilians," the statement said.
NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen also deplored the bombings, saying: "These despicable acts show total disregard for the life of civilians. I extend my deep condolences to the families and loved ones of those killed, and my sympathy to those who were wounded. I express full solidarity with the people and the authorities of our Ally Turkey."
Separately, Turkey said on Sunday that it had arrested nine people in connection with the Reyhanli bombings, and expressed doubts that the attacks might have been orchestrated by the Syrian intelligence agencies for dragging Turkey into the ongoing civil war in Syria.
"This incident was carried out by an organization which is in close contact to pro-regime groups in Syria and I say this very clearly, with the Syrian Mukhabarat," Interior Minister Muammer Guler was quoted as telling Turkish TV by the BBC.
Further, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan called on his countrymen to be "extremely careful, extremely vigilant... in the face of provocations," and stressed that his country would not be dragged into a "bloody quagmire."
Nevertheless, Syria denied any responsibility in the bombings, with Information Minister Omran al-Zoubi saying at a news conference that his country "did not commit and would never commit such an act because our values would not allow that."
Zoubi said Erdogan and his party should be held responsible for the bombings, pointing out that the Turkish government had been facilitating in the flow of arms, explosives, vehicles, fighters and money into Syria.
For comments and feedback: editorial@rttnews.com