Reyhanlı bombings

The Reyhanlı bombings took place on 11 May 2013, when two car bombs exploded in the town of Reyhanlı, a town of 64,000 people, 5 km from the Syrian border and the busiest land border post with Syria, in Hatay Province, Turkey. At least 51 people were killed and 140 injured in the attack.

It is not known who was responsible for the attack. Options that have been suggested and defended are: the Syrian government; the al-Nusra Front; Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL); Acilciler—Turks with ties to Syrian groups—whose leader has implicated the Turkish Intelligence Organization.

Following the bombings, hundreds of Syrians felt constrained to flee Reyhanli, and some residents blamed the Turkish government for bringing the war in Syria to the town.

Reyhanlı is a town of 64,000 people in the far south of Turkey in Hatay Province, 5 km from the Syrian border and close to the busiest land border post with Syria: the Bab al-Hawa Border Crossing.

Many Syrian refugees have passed through the town while fleeing from the civil war in their own country. The nearby Cilvegözü–Bab al-Hawa Border Crossing, which is controlled on the Syrian side by rebels, is the busiest crossing point between the two countries.

On 3 October 2012, mortar fire from Syria killed five people in the Turkish border town of Akçakale. On 11 February 2013, the gate of the Cilvegözü–Bab al-Hawa Border Crossing was the scene of a deadly attack, when an explosion killed 17 people and injured 30 more.

Two car bombs were left outside Reyhanlı's town hall and post office. The first exploded at around 13:45 EEST (10:45 UTC), and the second about 5 minutes later. People attempting to help those injured in the first explosion were caught in the second blast.