13 Killed in Car Bombing Along Turkey-Syria Border

Three Turks, 10 Syrians Slain in Attack, 28 Wounded

13 people, including three Turkish citizens, were killed today when a car bombing attacked the border gate of Cilvegozu in the Hatay Province. 28 others were reported wounded in the attack.

Conspicuously absent is a claim of responsibility from any group, as the strike targeted a key supply point for many rebel groups, but was apparently carried out by some rebel group for some as-yet-unknown reason.

Syrian President Bashar Assad insisted that he would not allow such “plots” to undermine his continued rule, nearly two years into an increasingly ugly civil war. The rebels also announced that they have taken over the nation’s largest dam today, with the Islamist al-Nusra Front seen as the frontline fighters of that attack.

Despite the Assad government’s confidence, the rebels seem to have broad control over northwestern Syria now, with only the major city of Aleppo still contested. The rebel groups remain splintered, however, likely reflected in today’s bombing at the rebel-held crossing.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan insisted that the bombing proved that his government had taken the right approach in the “situation in Syria,” in which they are openly backing regime change and allowing rebels free passage back and forth across the border.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.