Tragedy struck what should have been a happy occasion when a child suicide bomber set off explosives at a wedding in Gaziantep, Turkey, on Saturday night, kiling more than 50 people. Turkey’s president later said that the bomber was a child—14 years old or younger.
It was the deadliest bombing in Turkey this year. In June, 42 people were killed when the Istanbul airport was bombed, and there have been other attacks as well.
Gazientep’s proximity to the Turkish-Syrian border has prompted authorities to blame this bombing on the Islamic State and the civil war in Syria, but ISIS has not claimed responsibility for the attack, the Associated Press reports. Some think Turkey has helped the rise of ISIS by allowing soldiers to easily cross its borders. Adding to the chaos is Turkey’s war with Kurdish rebels, who are hoping to establish their own territory in the country.
Turkey is still recovering from a failed military coup last month, during which more than 240 people died, according to The New York Times.
A representative from the Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party said that the wedding was a traditional Kurdish ceremony which took place in a primarily Kurdish neighborhood. He also said that many of the over fifty people who were killed and almost seventy who were injured were children, according to the AP. The bride and groom survived the bombing mostly unscathed.
On Sunday, a mass funeral was held for the victims at the Yesilkent cemetery in Gaziantep.