A bomb exploded at an outdoor wedding ceremony in southeastern Turkey late Saturday night, causing multiple casualties, officials said.
Gaziantep Province Gov. Ali Yerlikaya said a blast during the wedding in the city of Gaziantep, near the border with Syria, was a terror attack. Mehmet Gokdag, a legislator with Turkey’s main opposition party, said the governor told him that at least 13 people had been killed in the blast. The Associated Press could not immediately confirm the death toll and the governor’s office was expected to make an announcement.
Mehmet Erdogan, a ruling party legislator from Gaziantep, said authorities believe it was most probably a suicide bomb attack that could have been the work of either Kurdish or Islamic State (ISIS) group terrorists.
Turkey has been rocked by a wave of attacks in the past year that have either been claimed by Kurds linked to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party — known by its acronym PKK — or were blamed on ISIS.
The attack comes as the country is still reeling from last month’s failed coup attempt which the government has blamed on U.S.-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen.
Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Simsek, interviewed on NTV television, said, “This was a barbaric attack. It appears to be a suicide attack. All terror groups, the PKK, Daesh [ISIS]…are targeting Turkey. But God willing, we will overcome.”
Mehmet Tascioglu, a local journalist, told NTV television, that the huge explosion could be heard in many parts of the city.
By: AP
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