Officials say Saturday’s attack in Gaziantep, near Syria’s border, appeared to be a suicide bombing. The Ankara government has blamed on followers of the exiled cleric Fethullah Gulen, but Gulen has denied the charge.
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The explosion – which officials said could have been triggered by a suicide bomber – was the latest attack to have rocked the key North Atlantic Treaty Organisation member in a horrific year that has seen strikes blamed on Kurdish and Islamist militants as well as a bloody July 15 botched coup.
The provincial government confirmed in a statement on early Sunday morning that at least 30 people had been killed and 94 others were injured, some of whom remain in critical condition.
The collapse of a two-and-a-half-year ceasefire between the Turkish state and the PKK in July last year has seen a return to violence in the long-running conflict.
“This was a barbaric attack”.
Ankara has long insisted there is no difference between the various “outlawed” terror groups it is fighting and has urged the West to take a tougher stance against the PKK.
Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Şimşek said the death toll might be higher than initially reported, The Daily Sabah reported. Daesh is an Arabic name for the IS group. He said, “This is a massacre of unprecedented cruelty and barbarism”. “We. are united against all terror organizations. They will not yield”.
The wedding took place on a street, a common practice in southern Turkey, especially during the summer.
The local governor’s office said in a statement 50 people were killed in the bombing, and more wounded were still being treated in hospitals around the province.
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Mehmet Tascioglu, a local journalist, told NTV television the huge explosion could be heard from many parts of the city. The site of the explosion was sealed off by police. Hundred of residents gathered near the site, praying for the dead and denouncing the attacker. News stories displayed here appear in our category for global and are licensed via a specific agreement between LongIsland.com and The Associated Press, the world’s oldest and largest news organization.
