Eight killed in blast at wedding in southeast Turkey: state media

A man and a woman mourn next to a body of one the victims of a blast targeting a wedding ceremony in the southern Turkish city of Gaziantep, Turkey, August 20, 2016. Ihlas News Agency via REUTERS


ISTANBUL Eight people were killed and 60 were wounded on Saturday, security sources said, in what a regional official in southern Turkey called a "terror attack" on a wedding party.


Ambulances raced to the scene of the attack in the Sahinbey district of the city of Gaziantep.


A parliamentary deputy from the ruling AK Party said in a twitter message that Islamic State militants were believed to be behind the attack.


NATO member Turkey has suffered a string of attacks by Islamic State and by Kurdish militants seeking autonomy or independence. Last month, the country was shaken by an attempted coup by rogue elements of the military.


Anadolu Agency quoted Gaziantep Governor Ali Yerlikaya as saying Saturday's explosion was a "terror attack".


Three suspected Islamic State suicide bombers killed 44 people at Istanbul's main airport in July, the deadliest in a string of attacks in Turkey this year.


(Reporting by David Dolan; editing by Ralph Boulton; editing by John Stonestreet)

Editor's Pick