At least 51 people were killed and 94 wounded when a suspected Daesh blast targeted an outdoor wedding celebration in the southeastern Turkish province of Gaziantep on Saturday night, the province’s governorate said.
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According to CNN, Regional Governor Ali Yerlikaya called the incident a “terror attack” and said it took place in Akdere neighborhood of the Sahinbey district.
He said ambulances were dispatched to the scene, and dead and wounded people were taken to hospitals.
Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Simsek said the “barbaric” attack in the city of Gaziantep, near the border with Syria, appeared to be a suicide bombing.
“Our country and our nation have again only one message to those who attack us – you will not succeed!” he said.
Multiple opposition parties denounced the attack, as did many foreign governments including the U.S., Germany, Russia, Egypt, Sweden, Greece, France, Bahrain, Qatar and Jordan.
A major city lying just 60km north of the Syrian border, Gaziantep has become a hub for Syrians fleeing the civil war in their country.
“It was clear that Daesh had such an organization in Gaziantep or was attempting to make room for itself in recent times”, Erdogan said, using an alternative acronym for IS. A dual suicide bombing blamed on IS at a peace rally in Turkey’s capital, Ankara, in October killed 103 people. For our NewsCast unit, NPR’s Peter Kenyon reports that, while no one has immediately claimed responsibility, authorities believe it to be the work of one group in particular. Gulen has denied the charge.
In the immediate aftermath of the Gaziantep bombing, Erdogan said there was “absolutely no difference” between IS, Kurdish rebels and Gulen’s movement, calling them terrorist groups.
On Thursday, 12 people were killed in a spate of bombings blamed on the PKK, who Erdogan said had killed 70 members of the security forces in the last month alone.
“The aim of terror is to scare the people but we will not allow this”, said Şimşek, who also represents Gaziantep in the Turkish parliament.
The party also suggested that IS carried out the attack hours after another Kurdish political party announced plans to negotiate to try to end a three-decade conflict between Kurdish militants and the Turkish government. “They will not yield”.
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Foreign governments, including the U.S., Sweden, Greece, France, Bahrain, Qatar and Jordan, have condemned the attack.
