Target Wedding ceremony Non-fatal injuries 66 (14 critically) Start date August 20, 2016 Attack type Suicide attack | Deaths 57 Assailant Suicide bomber Location Şahinbey, Turkey | |
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Perpetrator Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant | ||
On 20 August 2016, a suicide bomber targeted a Kurdish wedding in Gaziantep, Turkey. 57 people were killed and 66 injured in the attack, 14 critically.
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Attack
On 20 August 2016, a suicide bomber targeted a wedding party in Gaziantep, Turkey, at 10:50pm local time. More than 200 people were present at the party. The attack targeted a Kurdish family who had fled the Kurdish town of Siirt due to Turkish-PKK violence, and occurred during the traditional henna night party according to witnesses. The groom was injured in the attack, but the bride escaped unharmed. The groom's injuries were described as non-life-threatening. A witness reported that two suspicious individuals had approached the party and left the scene following the attack. The security forces have been looking for these two suspects. The Kurdish political party HDP announced that the attack had been carried out against the wedding of their party members. Footage from the scene of the attack was banned by Turkey's broadcast regulator RTUK. The attack came hours after Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım said that Turkey could play an active role in the Syrian civil war.
A total of 57 people were killed while 66 people were injured in the attack. A high proportion of the fatalities were children, with 34 of the dead being under 18. Thirteen of those killed were women. Among those injured, 66 were reported as remaining in hospital as of 22 August, and the condition of 14 was reported as serious.
Perpetrator
The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) were earlier blamed for the attack by AKP parliamentary officials, though no group has yet claimed responsibility. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said the attacker was believed to be between 12 and 14 years old. He also stated that the attack had probably been carried out by ISIL.
The Prime Minister, Binali Yıldırım, stated a day later that Turkish authorities were still trying to determine who carried out the attack, and whether the bomber was a child or an adult. As of 22 August 2016, DNA tests are underway to ascertain the identity of the perpetrator.