Turkish security forces detained on Sunday nine Turkish citizens suspected of being involved in Reyhanli attacks

Turkish security forces detained on Sunday nine Turkish citizens suspected of being involved in recent two car bomb attacks in the southern town of Reyhanli, where nearly 50 people died.

Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Besir Atalay said in a press conference in the capital, Ankara, that the nine suspects had been identified through their own confessions and statements.

According to police sources, five of the captured suspects are members of the Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party/Front (DHKP/C), while the remaining four are members of the militant group Acilciler.

Turkey immediately claimed that Damascus was behind the attack but Syria has dismissed the claim.

Syrian Information Minister Omran al-Zoabi told a news conference on Sunday that Damascus “did not commit and would never commit such an act because our values would not allow that.” The Syrian minister blamed the Turkish government for the Reyhanli bombings and the ongoing foreign-sponsored turmoil in Syria.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki also condemned on Sunday the attacks. “These crimes and the expanding circle of terrorism constitute an additional incentive… to increase cooperation between all countries, especially countries in the region, and coordination between them, to cut the circle of terrorism.”

Hundreds of people have gathered in the southern Turkish province Hatay to protest against Saturday’s twin car bombings. The protesters held banners calling on the United States to stop its intervention and meddling in Syria.

The protesters are blaming the Turkish government for the incident because of its support for armed groups inside Syria.