29 children killed in Gaziantep attack as death toll rises to 54

GAZİANTEP

A family member of a victim of a suicide bombing at a wedding celebration mourn over a coffin during a funeral ceremony in the southern Turkish city of Gaziantep, Turkey, August 21, 2016. REUTERS photo

A total of 29 children were killed in a suicide attack targeting a wedding party in the Şahinbey district of the southeastern province of Gaziantep late on Aug. 20. The total death toll in the attack has risen to 54.

Some 29 of the victims of the deadly suicide bombing in the Beybahçe neighborhood were identified as being under the age of 18 after the identification process.

A total of 44 victims have been identified and laid to rest so far, including 31 males and 13 females. The autopsy and identification processes of another seven victims are also ongoing.

The death toll in the suicide attack, meanwhile, rose to 54 in the early hours of Aug. 22.

Another three wounded people who were receiving treatment at hospitals succumbed to their injuries, bringing the death toll to 54.

A total of 66 wounded are still receiving treatment at hospitals in the province, with 14 in a critical condition.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced on Aug. 21 that a child suicide bomber aged between 12 and 14 blew himself up in an attack likely staged by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) jihadist group.

The bride and the groom were wounded in the attack on a street wedding, mostly attended by people from the eastern provinces of Siirt and Van.

After initial inspections at the scene, police said they found pieces of a suicide vest.