Turkey wedding suicide bomber 'was aged 12-14'

Istanbul: An Islamic State group suicide bomber as young as 12 years old attacked an outdoor Kurdish wedding party in southeastern Turkey, killing at least 51 people and wounding dozens of others, the Turkish president said yesterday.

People on Sunday mourn during a funeral for victims of Saturday night's attack on a wedding party in Gaziantep (below). Pics/AFP

The bombing late on Saturday night in Gaziantep, near Turkey's border with Syria, was the deadliest attack in Turkey this year.President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, speaking live on national television, said the attacker was aged between 12 and 14, adding that 69 people were wounded, with 17 of them in a critical condition. "It was clear that Daesh had such an organisaion in Gaziantep or was attempting to make room for itself," Erdogan said, using an alternative acronym for IS.

A bus driver who shuttled some of the guests from Siirt to Gaziantep said that he couldn't believe the party was targeted.

"This was a wedding party. Just a regular wedding party," said Hamdullah Ceyhan. "This attack was deplorable. How did they do such a thing?"

Turkey has been rocked by a wave of attacks in the past year that have either been claimed by Kurdish militants linked to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party, known by its acronym PKK, or were blamed on IS.

The attack comes as the country is still reeling from last month's failed coup attempt.