Istanbul, Turkey ? Near-simultaneous car bombs exploded outside two Istanbul synagogues filled with worshippers Saturday, killing at least 20 and wounding more than 300. The government said the attack had international links, raising suspicions that the al-Qaida terror network was involved.

One blast tore apart the facade of Neve Shalom — Istanbul’s biggest synagogue and the symbolic center of the 25,000-member Jewish community in this Muslim nation — just as hundreds of people inside were celebrating a boy’s bar mitzvah.

Three miles away in an affluent neighborhood, another blast hit the Beth Israel synagogue, where some 300 people were marking the completion of a remodeled religious school. Six Jews were killed at Beth Israel and many injured, including Chief Rabbi Isak Haleva and his son. Fourteen Muslims also were killed — including two security guards at Beth Israel and one at Neve Shalom.

The bombings targeted a secular-minded nation that is the sole Muslim member of NATO and a close ally of the United States — at one point considering sending troops to help in the occupation of neighboring Iraq. Turkey also has strong military and economic ties with Israel.

Interior Minister Abdulkadir Aksu said police were investigating whether the blasts were set off by suicide bombers, timer or remote control.

A local Turkish militant group reportedly claimed responsibility for the blast. But police said the attack was too sophisticated for such a small group and said they were looking into al-Qaida links.

“It is obvious that this terrorist attack has some international connections,” Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said.

Burnt vehicles line the street after an explosion outside the Neve Shalom Synagogue in Istanbul, Turkey. The entrance to the synagogue is at left. Suicide car bombers attacked two synagogues Saturday in Istanbul, killing at least 20 people, officials said.