Tag: Gaziantep

Turkey Launches Attacks On IS, Kurds in Syria

Turkey, Attacks On IS, Kurds, Syria Turkey has begun attacking Islamic state (IS) targets, in Northern Syria amid reports that Syrian rebels are also set to launch an offensive against the group.

Artillery positioned inside Turkey, fired on ISIS as well as Kurdish militia targets in the towns of Jarablus and Manbij.

The attack follows from the blast which occurred on Saturday at a Kurdish wedding in the Northern area of Gaziantep, killing at least 50 people and leaving many injured.

Some 1,500 Turkish-backed Syrian rebels, are thought to be in the Turkish town of Gaziantep waiting to attack.

Analysts say the imminent offensive may have spurred the suicide bombing believed to have been carried out by Isis.

However, Turkey’s Prime Minister Binali Yildirim says, the identity of the bomber, initially thought to be a child, has not yet been established.

Kurds accuse Turkey of using the US-led coalition against IS as a cover to attack the PKK in both Turkey and Iraq, and now against the YPG in northern Syria.

The Kurds also say Turkey’s bombardment of their positions is helping IS to attack Kurdish-held frontline areas in Syria and Iraq.

 

Turkey Wedding Blast Carried Out By Child Aged 12-14

City of Gaziantep, turkey wedding, blast,Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the suicide bombing which killed 51 people in the Turkish city of Gaziantep was carried out by a 12 to 14-year-old.

Mr Erdogan said the so-called Islamic State (IS) was behind the attack, which targeted a Kurdish wedding party. Gaziantep, near the Syrian border, is known to have several IS cells.

The bomb wounded 69 people and 17 of them seriously, he said.

Earlier report said 94 persons were injured in the blast, at an outdoor wedding party in the South Turkish City of Gaziantep.

The sound of the blast which occurred in an area popular with university students, could be heard across the city near the Syrian border.

Gaziantep, where the terrorists have been battling Syrian Kurdish forces is known to have several IS cells.

Turkey has been hit by a series of bombs both by IS and Kurdish militants in the past year, often targeting Kurdish gatherings in an effort to inflame ethnic tensions.

The previous deadliest one was last October at a rally of pro-Kurdish and labor activists in Ankara where suicide bombers killed more than 100 people.

Some witnesses describing the scene say, blood and burns marked the walls of the narrow lane where the blast hit. Women in white and checkered scarves cried, sitting cross-legged outside the morgue waiting for word on missing relatives.

25-year- old Veli Can says “The celebrations were coming to an end and there was a big explosion among people dancing, “There was blood and body parts everywhere.”

Security sources said: “hundreds gathered for funerals on Sunday, some weeping at coffins draped in the green color of Islam, local television images showed. But other funerals would have to wait because many of the victims were blown to pieces and DNA forensics tests would be needed to identify them.

In Gaziantep, the chief prosecutor’s office said they had found a destroyed suicide vest at the blast site.