A terrorist attack at Kurdish wedding

At least 50 people died and about 100 people were injured as a result of an explosion at a street wedding in the Turkish city of Gaziantep. Presumably, the explosion was carried out by a suicide bomber aged 12-14 years. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan sharply condemned the attack that occurred on Sunday night, he does not exclude that the “Islamic State” is responsible for the attack (the organization was banned in the Russian Federation). No official messages from jihadists have been received on this subject.

According to the Turkish media, the bride and groom originally from the province of Sirt, and there were many Kurds among the guests of the wedding. This is the largest terrorist attack in Turkey this year. In the photographs from the scene, you can see the bodies of people covered with white sheets and a crowd of people nearby. The Guardian , citing local journalist Mehmet Tashchoglu, writes that the explosion that thundered late in the evening was heard in many parts of the city.

“It was a barbaric attack. All terrorist groups - the working party of Kurdistan, IG, supporters of Fethullah Gulen - all of them plan attacks on Turkey. But if God gives, we will win, ”said the deputy prime minister of the country Mehmet Shimshka, speaking on television. The head of the Turkish government, Binali Yyldyrym, also made a sharp condemnation of the attack, noting that the explosion turned the holiday into a “funeral ceremony”.

Later, the law enforcement agencies said that the remains of the mortar belt were discovered at the scene. Erdogan in a television appeal said that the age of the suicide bomber is 12-14 years old.

Last year, a series of terrorist attacks occurred in Turkey, in which the government accused either the IS or the Kurdistan’s working party and its radical wing - Sokolov Freedom of Kurdistan. In June, presumably, IS militants attacked the Ataturk Airport in Istanbul, as a result of which 44 people were killed.

A month ago in Turkey, an attempt by a military coup was announced. After a report of the restoration of control over the situation, the authorities began mass repressions against the military, journalists, teachers and other people who are accused of relations with the clergyman Fethullah Gulen - once an ally, and now the enemy of Erdogan. Earlier this week, RPK, according to Ankara, carried out a number of attacks on the security forces of the country and military personnel, as a result of which 12 people were killed.

Some analysts believe that IS can expand terror against the Kurds as revenge for loss of territories in Syria on the Syrian-Kurdish border. “The IG always chooses with its victims of defenseless citizens, but we can consider this case as an attack on the Kurds of revenge. These were not random goals and an accidental wedding. Most people who celebrate the wedding were supporters of the DPN (defending the equal rights of the Kurds “Democratic Party of Peoples”, “Polit.ru”). These families were forced to leave their villages during clashes in the 90s, ” said the deputy from DPN Makhmut Togrul.

According to him, the Turkish government knew that recently the IG has activated in Gaziantep, but did nothing to protect local residents.

Russian President Vladimir Putin sent Erdogan a telegram in which he expressed condolences in connection with what happened. “The atrocity committed in the midst of a wedding celebration is amazing with its cruelty and cynicism,” the Kremlin’s website said . The US authorities made a sharp condemnation of the terrorist attack.