The suicide
bomber in a Turkish wedding party attack that killed dozens of people was
between 12 and 14 years old, Turkey's president announced Sunday, blaming the
Islamic State terror group for the massacre.
Recep Tayyip
Erdogan spoke in a live nationally-televised address in front of Istanbul city
Hall. At least 50 people were killed and dozens of others wounded in the attack
late Saturday in the southeastern city of Gaziantep.
Erdogan added
that there was “absolutely no difference” between ISIS, Kurdish rebels and the
movement behind the U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, calling them terrorists.
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.
Turkey has
been the target of attacks in the past year that have been claimed by Kurdish
militants linked to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) or were blamed
on ISIS. In June, suspected Islamic State militants attacked Istanbul’s main
airport with guns and bombs, killing 44 people. A dual suicide bombing blamed
on ISIS at a peace rally in Turkey's capital, Ankara, in October killed 103
victims.
Earlier this week,
a string of bombings blamed on the PKK that targeted police and soldiers killed
at least a dozen people. A fragile, 2 ½ year-long peace process between the PKK
and the government collapsed last year, leading to a resumption of the
three-decade-long conflict.
"This was
a barbaric attack. It appears to be a suicide attack. All terror groups, the
PKK, Daesh, the (Gulen movement) are targeting Turkey. But God willing, we will
overcome,” Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Simsek told NTV television.
Daesh is an
Arabic name for ISIS.
Simsek later
traveled to Gaziantep along with the country's health minister to visit the
wounded and inspect the site of the attack. He characterized the attack as
“barbaric.”
"This is
a massacre of unprecedented cruelty and barbarism," he told reporters in
Gaziantep. "We ... are united against all terror organizations. They will
not yield."
Prime Minister
Binali Yildirim condemned the bombing that turned "a wedding party into a
place of mourning" and vowed to prevail over the "devilish"
attacks.
"No
matter what this treacherous terror organization is called, we as the people,
the state, and the government will pursue our determined struggle against
it," he said.
A brief
statement from the Gaziantep governor's office said the bomb attack on the
wedding in the Sahinbey district occurred at 10:50 p.m.
Mehmet
Tascioglu, a local journalist, told NTV television, that the huge explosion
could be heard in many parts of the city.
Police sealed
off the site of the explosion and forensic teams moved in. Hundreds of
residents gathered near the site chanting "Allah is great" as well as
slogans denouncing attacks.
Source: Fox news
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