At least 50 killed in Turkey wedding attack

ANKARA (AFP) – At least 50 people were killed and dozens more wounded late Saturday in an attack possibly carried out by a suicide bomber on a wedding party in the Turkish city of Gaziantep near the Syrian border, officials said.

The explosion is the latest attack to have rocked the key NATO member in a horrific year that has seen a string of strikes blamed on Kurdish and Islamist militants as well as a bloody July 15 botched coup.

Gaziantep governor Ali Yerlikaya said in a statement that 50 people had been killed and 94 wounded in “an abhorrent terror bomb attack on a wedding.’’

A previous toll had put the number of dead at 30.

“We condemn the traitors who organized and carried out this attack,’’ he said, vowing that those responsible would be ‘’brought to account.’’

Mehmet Erdogan, a ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) lawmaker for Gaziantep said it was not clear who was responsible for the explosion but there was a “high possibility’’ it was a suicide attack.

The lawmaker added that it was the type of attack that could have been launched by the Islamic State (IS) group or the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

The explosion took place in the Sahinbey district of the city which is said to have a large number of Kurdish residents, fuelling speculation of Islamic State (IS) jihadist involvement. Reports said the wedding had a strong Kurdish presence.