The 17-year-old was one of 54 people killed – including 22 children – in a suicide attack on a wedding party in the southeastern city of Gaziantep on Saturday.
Advertisement
The attack came as the country is still reeling from last month’s failed coup attempt, which the government has blamed on USA -based Muslim cleric and writer Fethullah Gülen and his followers. “Early information on who did the attack, in what organization’s name, is unfortunately not right”. The alleged perpetrator of the attack was a minor between 12 and 14 years, as reported by the authorities who link him with the terrorist group Islamic State.
The statement also said the Gaziantep attack “targets those determined and consistent in peace … and those struggling for democracy, equality and freedom”. The type of bomb, which contained scraps of metal, was similar to those used in previous attacks on pro-Kurdish gatherings, the Hurriyet newspaper said.
The operation comes amid reports Turkish-backed Syrian rebels are preparing to launch an offensive to drive IS out of the region.
“Our border must be completely cleansed from Daesh”, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said in televised remarks.
“Our border must be completely cleansed from Daesh”, he said in televised remarks, using an Arabic acronym for the IS group.
Turkish army howitzers stationed inside Turkey fired on IS targets in the town of Jarablus and PYD targets around the area of Manbij, the CNN-Turk and NTV channels reported at the time.
Officials have said it appears to be the work of the Islamic State group, accusing it of trying to destabilize the country by exploiting ethnic and religious tensions.
Reports said more than half of the victims are below the age of 14. Sixty-six people are still in hospital.
The wedding party that was hit over the weekend was attended by members of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party, or HDP, a leftist faction which commands seats in parliament and is a thorn in the side of the AKP.
Turkish news agency DHA broadcast footage showing the bride and groom overcome by emotion as they returned to the blast site at an apartment building that was home to the groom’s parents and where the newlyweds were to live after their wedding.
Advertisement
“Those who can not overcome Turkey and try to provoke people by abusing ethnic and sectarian sensitiveness will not prevail”, declared Erdogan, taking the opportunity to reiterate his stance that ISIS, the Kurdish separatists of the PKK, and the followers of exiled cleric Fethullah Gulen – whom Erdogan blames for last month’s failed effort to depose him – are equal threats to his nation’s security.
