ISTANBUL: More than 51 people were killed when a suicide bomber attacked a Kurdish wedding party in Gaziantep near the Syrian border. The deadliest, in a series of attacks in Turkey, it was carried out by a boy aged between 12 and 14. President Tayyip Erdogan said the Islamic State was behind the attack.
The terrorist outfit has often targeted Kurdish gatherings, in a bid to blow ethnic tensions. The country is vulnerable to multiple security threats from militants at home and from Syria. "Initial evidence suggests it was a Daesh attack," Erdogan said. He stated that 69 people were in hospital and 17 were "heavily injured". Following the attack, police sealed off the site and forensic teams moved in. Deputy PM Mehmet Simsek visited the scene. "This is a massacre of unprecedented cruelty and barbarism. We... are united against all terror organisations. They will not yield," he said.
The wedding party was for a member of the pro-Kurdish People's Democratic Party. A local official informed that the groom was among those injured, and the dead included women and children. Veli Can, 25, said, "The celebrations were coming to an end and there was big explosion among people dancing. There was blood and body parts everywhere." Opposition parties, and foreign governments denounced the attack. US ambassador to Turkey, John Bass said, "We stand by our ally Turkey and pledge to continue to work closely together to defeat the common threat of terrorism."
NATO member Turkey is a partner in the Western coalition against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, allowing US jets to to fly from its air bases. It has also backed some rebel groups in Syria. Syrian rebels were preparing to launch an operation to capture a town held by Islamic State at the border with Turkey, a senior Syrian rebel said.
Hundreds gathered for funerals on Sunday, some weeping at coffins draped in the green colour of Islam. Other funerals would have to wait because many of the victims were blown to pieces and DNA forensics tests would be needed to identify them. In Gaziantep, the chief prosecutor's office said they had found a destroyed suicide vest.
