At least eight people were killed and 60 were wounded in an attack on a wedding reception in southern Turkey, according to multiple reports.
Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Simsek said the rampage was likely carried out by a suicide bomber.
Reuters reports on the scene of the attack and suspicion from the ruling AK Party that the Islamic State may have been behind the bombing:
Ambulances raced to the scene of the attack in the Sahinbey district of the city of Gaziantep and police sealed off the area.
A parliamentary deputy from the ruling AK Party said in a twitter message that Islamic State militants were believed to be behind the attack. There was no immediate claim of responsibility.
NATO member Turkey has suffered a string of attacks this year by Islamic State fighters, who pass relatively easily across the border from neighboring Syria, and by Kurdish militants seeking autonomy or independence.
Footage of the attack was shared on twitter.
First footage from explosion
A suicide attack occured near a wedding party in the downtown of #Gaziantep #Turkey pic.twitter.com/fVz2jMNtMA— Hamosh 🇸 (@Hamosh84) August 20, 2016
The BBC further reports:
Gaziantep Governor Ali Yerlikaya told Turkey’s Anadolu news agency that the “terror attack” took place in Akdere, in the city’s Sahinbey district.
Gaziantep is about 64km (40 miles) from the Syrian border. A suicide bomber killed two policemen there in May.
“There are people who lost their lives and we have initial information suggesting it was a bomb attack,” said Turkish MP Mehmet Erdogan of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).
Aaron Klein is Breitbart’s Jerusalem bureau chief and senior investigative reporter. He is a New York Times bestselling author and hosts the popular weekend talk radio program, “Aaron Klein Investigative Radio.” Follow him on Twitter @AaronKleinShow. Follow him on Facebook.
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