At least 50 people were killed and 94 others wounded in southeastern Turkey on Saturday when a suspected suicide bomber exploded as revelers danced in the streets during an outdoor wedding party, authorities said.
Calling the attack “barbaric,” Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Simsek said the bombing–which occurred in the city of Gaziantep, near the border with Syria–was likely carried out by a member of the Islamic State.
“There was blood and body parts everywhere,” said 25-year-old witness Veli Can.
Other local officials posited the blitz could also be the work of Kurdish militants.
Photos taken after the blast showed several bodies covered with white sheets as a dazed crowd stands amidst the bloody scene, and blood and burn marks could be seen on the walls of the narrow street.
Local reports described women in white and checked scarves sobbing as they waited outside the morgue, trying to get word of missing relatives.
The targeted wedding party belonged to a member of the pro-Kurdish People’s Democratic party, officials said.
While the groom has been reported among those injured, authorities said the bride was unharmed.
Celebrations were coming to a close as guests spilled into the street, taking part in a traditional henna-painting ceremony.
Hundreds of mourners gathered Sunday for funerals, weeping alongside coffins draped in green–the color of Islam.
But other families had to wait, as the remains of many bodies were so disintegrated in the explosion that DNA forensics tests would be needed to identify them.
Saturday’s blast was the deadliest in a wave of bombings Turkey has seen this year. Previous explosions have been variously claimed by Kurdish militants linked to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party — known by the acronym PKK — or blamed on the Islamic State.
In June, suspected IS militants killed 44 people when they attacked Istanbul’s main airport with guns and bombs.
The attack comes as the country is still reeling from last month’s failed coup attempt which the government has blamed on U.S.-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen and his followers.
Earlier this week, at least a dozen people were killed in a string of bombings blamed on the PKK that targeted police and soldiers.
A tenuous, 2 ½ year-long peace process between the PKK and the government collapsed last year, making way for a continuation of the three-decade long conflict.
“This was a barbaric attack. It appears to be a suicide attack. All terror groups, the PKK, Daesh, the (Gulen movement) are targeting Turkey.” Simsek, interviewed on NTV television, said.”But God willing, we will overcome.” Daesh is an Arabic name for the IS group.
A brief statement from the Gaziantep governor’s office reported the bomb attack on the wedding in the Sahinbey district occurred at 10:50 p.m.
Local journalist Mehmet Tascioglu told NTV television that the explosion was so loud it could be heard across the city.
As Gaziantep police sealed off the site of the blast, hundreds of residents gathered, bellowing “Allah is great,” and denouncing terrorist attacks.