Turkey wedding attack victims mostly children

Ankara, Aug 22 (IANS) More than half of at least 54 persons killed in an attack on a Kurdish wedding party in the southeastern Turkish city of Gaziantep were children, Turkish officials indicated on Monday.

Of the 69 people injured and taken to hospital following the attack on Saturday evening -- when a youth aged 12-14 years old detonated an explosive device he was wearing -- five remained critical, Efe news reported.

However, medical services were unable to save three, according to Turkish newspaper Cumhuriyet, which cited officials.

Turkish authorities have suggested that Islamic State was behind the massacre.

Autopsies of 44 of the victims have been completed, of whom 29 were identified as minors aged 4- to 13-year-olds.

Analysis of the security cameras in the street where the massacre took place showed that two people had accompanied the suspect to the scene before quickly moving away, according to CNNTurk.

The explosive device was made up of shrapnel, as in the cases of recent IS attacks in Suruc and Ankara in July and October of 2015, respectively, authorities said.

The couple who were celebrating their wedding survived, albeit with injuries.

They were members of the pro-Kurd Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), which has been a target for IS attacks in Turkey.