A blast occurred at a wedding in Sahinbey District of Turkish province of Gaziantep on Saturday night, killing at least 50 people and injuring 94 others, Gaziantep Governor’s Office confirmed on early Sunday.
The wedding took place on a street, a common practice in southern Turkey, especially during the summer season. It was reportedly a Kurdish wedding.
Samil Tayyar, deputy of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party), said on twitter that the attack was carried out by Islamic State. Islamic State has been blamed for suicide bombings on Kurdish gatherings in the past.
Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Simsek however said that the explosion may have been caused by a suicide attack, adding that the death toll might be higher than reported.
No group has claimed the attack so far. However, the suicide bomber has been identified as being between 12 to 14 years of age.
Local media reported that the blast occurred at 22:40 local time (1940 GMT) in a mainly Kurdish-inhabited neighbourhood of the city, while local reporters and officials said that the family hosting the wedding is from eastern Turkey.
President Erdogan and PM Yildirim Condemn the Attack
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, condemned the attack in a statement.
Those, who cannot overcome Turkey and try to provoke people by abusing ethnic and sectarian sensitiveness, will not prevail.Turkish President Erdogan
He added that ISIS was the “likely perpetrator” of the attack.
Prime Minister Binali Yildirim condemned the bombing that turned “a wedding party into a place of mourning” and vowed to prevail over the “devilish” attacks.
No matter what this treacherous terror organization is called, we as the people, the state, and the government will pursue our determined struggle against it.
Only last month Turkey was shaken when a section of the army tried to overthrow the current government in a coup attempt which was thwarted soon after.
In the past months, Turkey has been the victim of growing violence.
In the most brazen attack, 44 people were killed in June by suspected IS suicide bombers at Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport.
Last March, two suicide bombers killed at least 40 people in Ankara, the capital. A Kurdish rebel group claimed responsibility for that attack.
Ambulances and Police Dispatched
Video of the aftermath shows hundreds of people in the darkened street as rescue workers lifted victims into ambulances. Orhan Akin, Gaziantep bureau chief for the Ihlas News Agency, told CNN Turk that he saw “at least 20 ambulances carrying injured people”.
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