The suicide bomber who killed 51 people at a wedding party in southern Turkey was between 12 and 14 years old, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Sunday, according to state-run news agency Andadolu.
Speaking to reporters in Istanbul, the Turkish President said that early indications suggested the terror group ISIS was behind Saturday night’s devastating suicide bomb attack on an outdoor wedding celebration in Gaziantep, near the Syrian border.
“The initial findings of the governor and our police forces indicate the attack has been perpetrated by Daesh,” said Erdogan, using another term for the terror group.
“As you know, Daesh is trying to position and organize itself in Gaziantep. Security operations have been conducted and are still being conducted against the terrorist organization.”
The toll from the attack jumped to 51 Sunday, according to the agency. Dozens of the dead were laid to rest later Sunday in a city cemetery.
Sixty-nine people were wounded in the blast, with 17 of them in critical condition, Anadolu reported.
The bride and groom were among the injured, although their condition was not critical, Anadolu reported, citing hospital officials.
Officials have found pieces of a detonated suicide vest at the scene, the agency reported. Witnesses to the blast described horrific scenes to Anadolu, with one telling the agency that body parts were strewn across the bomb site.
“We couldn’t see anything. Nothing but body parts,” Sukru Akdogan, the groom’s brother, told Anadolu.