Special to WorldTribune.com

ANKARA — In the first such attack since the Sunni revolt in 2011, a
Turkish border facility along the Syrian border was bombed.

At least 13 people were killed and 28 injured in a blast at a facility
along the Turkish border with Syria on Feb. 11. Officials said a Syrian car
filled with explosives was detonated in the buffer zone used by Turkey to
distribute humanitarian aid. All of the casualties were identified as
Turkish.

“This incident shows the accuracy of our approach and our commitment to both the issue of terrorism and the situation in Syria,” Turkish Prime Minister Recep Erdogan said.

This marked the first suspected Syrian attack on the 900-kilometer
Turkish border since the Sunni revolt against President Bashar Assad erupted in April 2011. In June 2012, a Turkish Air Force F-4 fighter-jet was shot down by the Syrian military.

“I want to make it clear that we will not make the slightest compromise
in our determination in both cases,” Erdogan said.

Officials said the car that exploded bore Syrian license plates and did
not enter Turkey. They said the attack took place at the Cilvegozu border gate in Turkey’s southern province of Hatay.

Turkey has been regarded as the haven for the Syrian opposition and
rebel movement. Officials did not rule out that Sunni rebels were
responsible in their effort to drag Ankara into war with Assad.

“This is an area where the rebel forces are strong and Syrian Army
personnel cannot approach,” Hassan Akgol, a parliamentarian with the
opposition Republican People’s Party, said. “My personal view is that this
is an attempt at provocation.”

Western diplomatic sources said Turkey has been training Sunni rebels,
including those aligned with Al Qaida, to attack the Assad regime. On Feb.
11, the opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said rebels killed 14
Syrian intelligence officers in suicide car bombings in the northeast
province of Hasakeh.

“At least 14 members of state security and military intelligence were
killed when Al Nusra Front fighters detonated car bombs in front of the
state security headquarters and a military intelligence building in the town
of Shadada,” Syrian Observatory said.

  Bashar Assad, Cilvegozu border gate, Hassan Akgol, In first, Recep Erdogan, Syrian car bomb kills 13 at Turkish border, Syrian Observatory for Human Rights