President Tayyip Erdogan said it was likely that Islamic State militants had carried out the late-night attack, the deadliest bombing this year in Turkey.
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The explosion occurred in the city of Gaziantep, located about 95 kilometers (60 miles) north of the war-torn Syrian city of Aleppo.
Regional Governor Ali Yerlikaya called the incident a “terror attack” and said it took place in Akdere neighborhood of the Sahinbey district, Anadolu reported.
It comes amid ongoing struggles between the government and Kurdish militants linked to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, known as the PKK, and as the country is still reeling from the aftermath of last month’s failed coup attempt, which the government has blamed on US -based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen and his followers.
He has accused Gulen of being behind the recent coup.
“Those, who can not overcome Turkey and try to provoke people by abusing ethnic and sectarian sensitiveness will not prevail”, he said.
A parliamentary deputy from the ruling AK Party said in a message posted on Twitter that Islamic State is believed to be behind the attack.
The United States condemned the killing in the “strongest possible terms”.
The White House condemned the Gaziantep attack, saying the “perpetrators of this barbaric act cynically and cowardly targeted a wedding”. “It affirms its solidarity with the Republic of Turkey in its fight against extremism, violence and terrorism”.
US Vice President Biden is scheduled to visit Ankara on August 24. “Suddenly people started running past us”. “There was blood and body parts everywhere”. One participant, shop owner Ercan Yilmaz, 36, told the AP it was “always those kinds of people being targeted – a Kurdish wedding party, opposition groups or people calling for peace in Ankara”, referring to the peace rally attacked in October.
“We extend heartfelt condolences to the friends and families of the victims and we wish a full and speedy recovery for the many who were wounded”.
The remains of a suicide vest have been recovered at the site, according to the state-run Anadolu Agency, citing a statement by the chief public prosecutor’s office.
“Everyone here is devastated”.
American officials, talking to Bernama on the condition of anonymity, have been pointing out that Gulen’s extradition case is a “purely legal matter” which can not be decided by Vice President Biden or even by President Obama but in a court of law, as is customary in the US. “They are struggling to identify the victims”, Hilmi Karaca, a Kurdish activist who witnessed the explosion, told The New York Times. Almost 50,000 people have been killed in the fighting.
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Three suspected ISIS suicide bombers killed 44 people at Istanbul’s main airport in June.
