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| Erdoğan blames Isis for suspected suicide attack at wedding in Gaziantep | Erdoğan blames Isis for suspected suicide attack at wedding in Gaziantep |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| At least 50 people have been killed and nearly 100 wounded in a suspected suicide bomb attack on an outdoor wedding celebration in Gaziantep, Turkish authorities have said. | At least 50 people have been killed and nearly 100 wounded in a suspected suicide bomb attack on an outdoor wedding celebration in Gaziantep, Turkish authorities have said. |
| The Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, harshly condemned the attack on Saturday night, which he said was carried out by a child of between 12 and 14 years old and was likely to have been ordered by Islamic State. | |
| Naziım Daştan, a local journalist, said the scene was one of devastation. “There were so many dead people. There were body parts. A wedding really is the last place that one would expect an attack on – it’s horrifying. It seems clear that this was yet another Isis attack in Gaziantep,” he said. | Naziım Daştan, a local journalist, said the scene was one of devastation. “There were so many dead people. There were body parts. A wedding really is the last place that one would expect an attack on – it’s horrifying. It seems clear that this was yet another Isis attack in Gaziantep,” he said. |
| Photographs taken after the explosion showed several bodies covered with white sheets as a crowd gathered nearby. Mehmet Taşcıoğlu, a local journalist, said the blast at about 10.50pm in the Şahinbey district could be heard in many parts of the city. | Photographs taken after the explosion showed several bodies covered with white sheets as a crowd gathered nearby. Mehmet Taşcıoğlu, a local journalist, said the blast at about 10.50pm in the Şahinbey district could be heard in many parts of the city. |
| Speaking on television, Şimşek said: “This was a barbaric attack. It appears to be a suicide attack. All terror groups, the PKK, Daesh [Isis], the [Gülen movement] are targeting Turkey. But God willing, we will overcome.” | Speaking on television, Şimşek said: “This was a barbaric attack. It appears to be a suicide attack. All terror groups, the PKK, Daesh [Isis], the [Gülen movement] are targeting Turkey. But God willing, we will overcome.” |
| The death toll was raised early on Sunday from 22 to 30 before the state-run Anadolu news agency reported that the number had reached 50, with 94 wounded. | The death toll was raised early on Sunday from 22 to 30 before the state-run Anadolu news agency reported that the number had reached 50, with 94 wounded. |
| There has been a string of deadly attacks in Turkey in the past year that were either blamed on Isis or claimed by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ party (PKK) and its radical offshoot, the Kurdistan Freedom Hawks. In June, suspected Isis militants attacked Atatürk airport in Istanbul, killing 44 people. | There has been a string of deadly attacks in Turkey in the past year that were either blamed on Isis or claimed by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ party (PKK) and its radical offshoot, the Kurdistan Freedom Hawks. In June, suspected Isis militants attacked Atatürk airport in Istanbul, killing 44 people. |
| The latest incident comes a month after a military coup attempt blamed by the Turkish government on a network linked to the US-based cleric Fethullah Gülen. Earlier this week, the PKK is believed to have been responsible for several attacks on security forces and military personnel, killing at least 12 people. | The latest incident comes a month after a military coup attempt blamed by the Turkish government on a network linked to the US-based cleric Fethullah Gülen. Earlier this week, the PKK is believed to have been responsible for several attacks on security forces and military personnel, killing at least 12 people. |
| Violence between the PKK and the Turkish government has flared after the breakdown of a ceasefire last year, and hundreds of people have been killed in violent clashes between security forces and Kurdish militants, in cities and towns across the predominantly Kurdish south-east. | |
| Some analysts have pointed to Isis having recently lost swaths of territory in northern Syria to Syrian-Kurdish fighters as a possible motivator for revenge attacks against Kurds. | Some analysts have pointed to Isis having recently lost swaths of territory in northern Syria to Syrian-Kurdish fighters as a possible motivator for revenge attacks against Kurds. |
| Mahmut Toğrul, the Gaziantep MP for the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic party (HDP), said the death toll had risen to 51 by Sunday morning and a number of people were critically injured. | Mahmut Toğrul, the Gaziantep MP for the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic party (HDP), said the death toll had risen to 51 by Sunday morning and a number of people were critically injured. |
| Identifying those killed was taking time because many were children without ID cards, he said, adding that he regarded the assault as a revenge attack on Kurds in Turkey by Isis. | Identifying those killed was taking time because many were children without ID cards, he said, adding that he regarded the assault as a revenge attack on Kurds in Turkey by Isis. |
| “It’s a catastrophe,” he told the Guardian. “People came together to celebrate, they were defenceless. [Isis] has always targeted civilians, but we need to see this attack as a revenge attack on Kurds. This was not a random target and not just any wedding. Most of the people celebrating at the wedding were HDP supporters. The families of the couple are Kurds displaced from their villages during the clashes in the 1990s [between Turkish security forces and the PKK].” | “It’s a catastrophe,” he told the Guardian. “People came together to celebrate, they were defenceless. [Isis] has always targeted civilians, but we need to see this attack as a revenge attack on Kurds. This was not a random target and not just any wedding. Most of the people celebrating at the wedding were HDP supporters. The families of the couple are Kurds displaced from their villages during the clashes in the 1990s [between Turkish security forces and the PKK].” |
| Local medical staff said Gaziantep’s hospitals were capable of dealing with the injured. | Local medical staff said Gaziantep’s hospitals were capable of dealing with the injured. |
| Toğrul said the Isis threat had been ignored by the Turkish government. “We have said for years that Isis was active in Gaziantep. This danger has been present for a long time, but unfortunately we never succeeded in convincing the government of this,” he said. “The necessary precautions were not taken.” | Toğrul said the Isis threat had been ignored by the Turkish government. “We have said for years that Isis was active in Gaziantep. This danger has been present for a long time, but unfortunately we never succeeded in convincing the government of this,” he said. “The necessary precautions were not taken.” |
| Turkish media reported that local Isis cells had previously considered an attack on a wedding of PKK supporters in Gaziantep. Yunus Durmaz, the alleged former head of an Isis cell in Turkey said to be one of the planners of the twin suicide bomb attacks on a peace rally in Ankara in October 2015, which killed at least 100 people, had suggested such an assault to an Isis contact inside Syria, according to Turkish daily Gazete Duvar. This was a reference to an indictment prepared by the public prosecutor’s office in Ankara. | Turkish media reported that local Isis cells had previously considered an attack on a wedding of PKK supporters in Gaziantep. Yunus Durmaz, the alleged former head of an Isis cell in Turkey said to be one of the planners of the twin suicide bomb attacks on a peace rally in Ankara in October 2015, which killed at least 100 people, had suggested such an assault to an Isis contact inside Syria, according to Turkish daily Gazete Duvar. This was a reference to an indictment prepared by the public prosecutor’s office in Ankara. |
| “[PKK supporters] celebrate weddings. Some of those attending these weddings are just relatives, but most of the attendees are PKK supporters and PKK flags are carried at those weddings, PKK songs are being sung there. Should we [attack] such a place, I ask,” the court document read. “There are weddings nowadays. If you say OK, we will attack.” | “[PKK supporters] celebrate weddings. Some of those attending these weddings are just relatives, but most of the attendees are PKK supporters and PKK flags are carried at those weddings, PKK songs are being sung there. Should we [attack] such a place, I ask,” the court document read. “There are weddings nowadays. If you say OK, we will attack.” |
| Durmaz killed himself during a police raid in Gaziantep on 19 May, but Turkish police were able to secure evidence of his communications from his computer. Analysts have long warned of the presence of an extensive Isis network in the city, which is 29 miles (46km) north of the Syrian border. | Durmaz killed himself during a police raid in Gaziantep on 19 May, but Turkish police were able to secure evidence of his communications from his computer. Analysts have long warned of the presence of an extensive Isis network in the city, which is 29 miles (46km) north of the Syrian border. |
| Akif Ekici, an MP for the main opposition Republican People’s party (CHP), told Turkish media that there was a “serious intelligence deficiency” and the government should work together with the opposition to prevent further attacks. | Akif Ekici, an MP for the main opposition Republican People’s party (CHP), told Turkish media that there was a “serious intelligence deficiency” and the government should work together with the opposition to prevent further attacks. |
| On 19 March, Mehmet Öztürk from Gaziantep killed several people in a suicide attack on Istanbul’s main street İstiklal. | On 19 March, Mehmet Öztürk from Gaziantep killed several people in a suicide attack on Istanbul’s main street İstiklal. |
| The Turkish government has urged people not to let recent attacks divide them. | The Turkish government has urged people not to let recent attacks divide them. |
| “Today is a day of unity and togetherness,” said the Turkish prime minister, Binali Yıldırım. “We stand united with our citizens, from the youngest to the oldest, against terrorism. Our pain is immense, but everyone should be assured that our unity and togetherness will spoil these devilish plans in our country and abroad.” | “Today is a day of unity and togetherness,” said the Turkish prime minister, Binali Yıldırım. “We stand united with our citizens, from the youngest to the oldest, against terrorism. Our pain is immense, but everyone should be assured that our unity and togetherness will spoil these devilish plans in our country and abroad.” |
| Metin Gurcan, a security analyst, said: “This is the first Isis attack targeting ethnically aware and politically active Kurds at a purely civilian occasion – a wedding. We know very well to what extent wedding attacks can sow disorder in a nation’s social fabric from [experience] in Afghanistan. | Metin Gurcan, a security analyst, said: “This is the first Isis attack targeting ethnically aware and politically active Kurds at a purely civilian occasion – a wedding. We know very well to what extent wedding attacks can sow disorder in a nation’s social fabric from [experience] in Afghanistan. |
| “Isis has been trying to exploit ethnic and sectarian faultlines in Gaziantep both to retaliate against the advancement of Syrian Kurds in the north of Syria and against Turkey’s attack against Isis targets inside Syria.” | “Isis has been trying to exploit ethnic and sectarian faultlines in Gaziantep both to retaliate against the advancement of Syrian Kurds in the north of Syria and against Turkey’s attack against Isis targets inside Syria.” |
| He urged the Turkish government to rethink its security strategy. “Turkey desperately needs a new security policy and approach,” Gurcan said. “Ankara is making a strategic mistake [by] putting the PKK, Isis and the Fethullah Gülen terror organisation in the same basket, by saying that [these groups] are mere instruments used by foreign powers trying to destabilise Turkey. | He urged the Turkish government to rethink its security strategy. “Turkey desperately needs a new security policy and approach,” Gurcan said. “Ankara is making a strategic mistake [by] putting the PKK, Isis and the Fethullah Gülen terror organisation in the same basket, by saying that [these groups] are mere instruments used by foreign powers trying to destabilise Turkey. |
| “This approach ... underestimates their agency and causes the failure of tailoring an actor specific counter-strategy.” | “This approach ... underestimates their agency and causes the failure of tailoring an actor specific counter-strategy.” |
| Selahattin Demirtaş, the co-leader of the HDP, said: “Let’s stand together for the condolences. There is no such thing as your funeral or my funeral. There are only our funerals. | Selahattin Demirtaş, the co-leader of the HDP, said: “Let’s stand together for the condolences. There is no such thing as your funeral or my funeral. There are only our funerals. |
| “I call on all our MP friends from the AKP, the [Nationalist Movement party] MHP and the CHP in Gaziantep. Come and let’s stand together for the condolences. Let’s unite our pain, let’s show those who turn our weddings into funerals, who turn our weddings into bloodbaths, that we stand as one. After that, everything else will be easy, there will be no problem we won’t be able to solve.” | “I call on all our MP friends from the AKP, the [Nationalist Movement party] MHP and the CHP in Gaziantep. Come and let’s stand together for the condolences. Let’s unite our pain, let’s show those who turn our weddings into funerals, who turn our weddings into bloodbaths, that we stand as one. After that, everything else will be easy, there will be no problem we won’t be able to solve.” |