30 killed, scores injured, in bombing at wedding in Turkey

A blast ripped through a wedding in the southern Turkish city of Gaziantep Saturday night, killing 30 and wounding another 94, the local governor said.

Gaziantep Governor Ali Yerlikaya called the bombing on a wedding party in the center of the city an “abhorrent terror attack,” as officials tried to determine if the Islamic State terror group or Kurdish insurgents were responsible.

His office early Sunday raised the death toll from 22 to 30. It said the number of wounded remained at 94.

“We condemn the traitors who organized and carried out this attack,” it added.

It was not immediately clear who was responsible but a Gaziantep MP for the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), Samil Tayyar, said: “Initial information suggests it is Daesh (IS) who did this,” Dogan news agency reported, using the Arabic acronym for the Islamic State group.

He added: “It is an area where many of our Kurdish brothers live.”

The pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) said its members had been present at the wedding which was also attended by many women and children.

Photos taken after the explosion showed several bodies covered with white sheets.

Mehmet Tascioglu, a local journalist, told NTV television that the huge explosion could be heard from many parts of the city.

In Gaziantep, 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 terrorist attacks.

“The explosion took place during a wedding. According to initially available information, the ceremony was being held outdoors,”a local official said after the blast.

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Turkish MP Mehmet Erdogan told CNN-Turk broadcaster that there were multiple casualties in the attack.

“There are people who lost their lives and we have initial information suggesting it was a bomb attack. We don’t know numbers of injured,” said Erdogan, a ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) lawmaker.

Deputy Prime Mehmet Simsek, who also represents Gaziantep in the Turkish parliament, called the attackers “barbaric.”

“The aim of terror is to scare the people but we will not allow this,” he told Turkish television. “It is barbaric to attack a wedding.”

“All terror groups, the PKK, Daesh, the (Gulen movement) are targeting Turkey. But God willing, we will overcome,” he added, using an Arabic name for the IS group.

It was not clear who was responsible for the explosion but last week, the region suffered three attacks blamed on Kurdish rebels in the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

But lawmaker Erdogan said it was the type of attack that could have been launched by the Islamic State group as well.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

Just north of the Syrian border, Gaziantep has become a major hub for Syrians fleeing the civil war in their country’s civil war.

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But as well as refugees and opposition activists, there have long been fears it was home to a significant jihadist presence.

Turkey has already been hit by a bloody year of militant attacks in its two biggest cities that have left dozens dead.

Turkey is being attacked by two vicious teror groups – ISIS & PKK – and its army just went through a coup attempt. This is a major ordeal.

— Mustafa Akyol (@AkyolinEnglish) August 20, 2016

Kurdish militants have twice struck in Ankara in deadly attacks, while IS suicide bombers have twice killed tourists in the center of Istanbul.

Meanwhile the country is still reeling from a failed July 15 coup blamed on the US-based Islamic preacher Fethullah Gulen that has been followed by a relentless purge of his supporters from all state institutions.

Twelve people were killed on Thursday in a spate of bombings against Turkish security forces blamed on the PKK who appear to have ramped up their campaign of attacks in the aftermath of the failed coup.

The blast in Gaziantep came on the day Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim vowed Ankara would play a “more active” role in the next six months in efforts to solve the five-year Syrian civil war.

In a sign that Turkey’s position was becoming gradually more aligned with Russia and Iran, he added that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad could remain temporarily during a transition period.

“He is one of the actors today no matter whether we like it or not,” said Yildirim.

Iran and Russia are the main allies of Assad whereas Turkey has always insisted his exit was a precondition for the end of the conflict.