3 killed in car explosion in southern Turkey

“It is obvious that the car was bomb-laden,” Erdogan said in Istanbul after Friday prayer.

The explosion in Reyhanli, Hatay claimed three lives, all Syrian nationals, the president said citing Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu.

Erdogan also said the explosion is suspected to be a terrorist act according to the initial reports.

Earlier, the province's governor Rahmi Dogan told Anadolu Agency that the cause of the blast was yet unknown.

A large number of ambulances and police teams were dispatched to the scene immediately after the explosion.

Reyhanlı district borders Syria and the town center lies right north to the Syrian border, while the Cilvegozu border gate, the main crossing into Syria, is some five kilometers away. The district has been home to a large population of Syrian refugees since the conflict erupted in Syria.

On May 11, 2013, a bomb-laden vehicle was detonated in Reyhanlı town center first, killing scores and causing destruction. A second vehicle was detonated five minutes later after dozens, including civilians, first-aid units and security forces, had rushed to the area to help those wounded in the attack. In addition to killing 53 people and injuring dozens of others, the attack devastated the district, damaging 912 houses, 891 businesses and 148 vehicles. It was the deadliest attack in the country at the time.

MNA/PR