At least 50 people have died and dozens have been injured after a bomb ripped through a Kurdish wedding party in Gaziantep, south-eastern Turkey.
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At least 50 people have died and dozens have been injured after a bomb ripped through a Kurdish wedding party in Gaziantep, south-eastern Turkey.
A suicide bomber has been suspected of being behind the attack, the latest in a string of bombings in the mainly Kurdish region in the past week leaving at least 10 people dead that the government has blamed on Kurdish PKK militants.
In a written response President Recep Tayyip Erdogan blamed ISIL for the attack, but said he made no difference between them, the PKK, or the group backing exiled cleric Fethullah Gulen, who is being blamed for July’s abortive coup.
“We will overcome these problems with strong solidarity. We are a strong state engaged in a difficult fight against all terrorist organisations. God willing we will win,” said local member of parliament and deputy prime minister Mehmet Şimşek.
The wedding party was for members of the opposition pro-Kurdish HDP party, and the city is also home to many people who have fled the fighting in Syria or the violence between Arkara and the Kurdish terrorists, particularly from the city of Siirt. Now they find the violence has followed them.