An explosion at an
outdoor wedding party in the southern Turkish city of Gaziantep has killed at
least 30 people and injured 94 more, the region's governor says.
The Turkish government
has called it a "terror attack" and suggested it was carried out by a
suicide bomber.
Gaziantep is 64km (40
miles) from the Syrian border.
Deputy Prime Minister
Mehmet Simsek called the attack "barbaric" but said: "God
willing, we will overcome."
It happened in a part
of the city where many university students live, after a wedding party spilled
out on to the streets. The blast was heard across town.
Was IS behind this? Mark Lowen, Istanbul
No group has said it
was behind the bombing - but government sources say it could have been carried
out by so-called Islamic State, which is known to have operatives in the border
city of Gaziantep.
Turkey has been hit by a series of bombs both by IS and Kurdish
militants in the past year, with the last IS attack on
Istanbul airport in June, killing more than 40 people.
The jihadists have
recently lost ground in northern Syria, including a former stronghold, Manbij.
Syrian rebel soldiers are preparing to advance further into the IS-held
province of Jarablus.
If this bomb was the
work of IS, there will be speculation it is a revenge attack, intended as a
show of strength by a group on the defensive.
The BBC's Seref Isler, who is from Gaziantep, said the
attack "took place in a city that is already on edge because of what's
happening right across the border" but was even more shocking because a
wedding party was targeted.
He said: "Weddings are in
Turkey considered sacred and very happy occasions, so to intentionally turn it
in to a bloodbath has received some very staunch criticism to say the least.
"Turkish society seems to
have been horrified that this has targeted specifically a wedding, what should
have been the happiest day of this couple's lives."
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| The explosion happened late at night, near where people were celebrating a wedding |
Southern Turkey has
been hit by several deadly blasts over the past year, linked either to Kurdish
separatist militants or so-called Islamic State (IS).
Often the attacks were
linked to developments in the war raging in Syria.
A suicide bomber believed to have links to IS killed two policemen in Gaziantep in
May.
In northern Syria,
just south of Gaziantep, there has been heavy fighting between IS jihadist
militants and Syrian Kurdish forces known as the YPG.
The border town of
Kobane was wrested back from IS control by Kurdish-led forces in January 2015,
after months of bitter fighting.
There has been a spate
of bombings in eastern Turkey in recent months blamed on the rebel Kurdistan
Workers' Party (PKK).
Earlier on Saturday, Turkey's government said the country
would take a more active role in efforts to end the war in Syria. Prime
Minister Binali Yildirim said a future political settlement for Syria must not
include Mr Assad, the PKK or IS.
"In the six
months ahead of us, we shall be playing a more active role," Mr Yildirim
said. "It means not allowing Syria to be divided along ethnic lines."
Recent attacks in Turkey
§
18
August: Four police officers
and two civilians are killed in bomb attacks in south-eastern Turkey.
Officials blame the PKK
§
10
August: At least eight
people are killed when PKK fighters attack police vehicles in
the south-east
§
29
June: A gun and bomb
attack on Ataturk airport in Istanbul kills 41
people, in an attack blamed on IS militants
§
7
June: Seven police
officers and four civilians die in a bomb attack on a bus in
Istanbul; Kurdish group the TAK later says it was behind the explosion
§
19
March: Four people die in a suicide bomb attack in a shopping
street in central Istanbul; IS is blamed.
§
12
January: 10 people, including
at least eight German tourists, die in a suicide bombing in Istanbul,
thought to have been carried out by IS
§
October
2015: More than 100 people
die in a double suicide bombing at a Kurdish
peace rally in Ankara - the deadliest attack of its kind on Turkish soil
Source:bbcnews.com
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