On Saturday, a child detonated a suicide bomb, killing at least 51 people at an outdoor wedding in Gaziantep, Turkey. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan blamed the attack on the Islamic State and revealed on national television the suicide bomber was between the ages of 12 and 14. The attack left 69 people wounded, 17 critically in addition to the 51 people killed. 

"It was clear that Daesh had such an organization in Gaziantep or was attempting to make room for itself in recent times," Erdogan said, using an alternative name for ISIS. "Many intensive operations were conducted, are being conducted. Of course our security forces will be conducting these operations with even greater intensity."

The bombing targeted a Kurdish community. This attack is not the first time the Kurds have come under attack from the Islamic State in Trukey. Last year, IS bombed a Kurdish rally in the Turkish capital and killed more than 100 people.

The attack on the wedding party came just before 11 p.m. on Saturday. Besna and Nurettin Akdogan were presiding over traditional henna ceremonies ahead of their formal wedding day. Friends and relatives were outside to enjoy the festivities in the neighborhood, home to many families who had fled violence between the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, and government forces across Turkey’s southeast to the relative peace of Gaziantep.

Witnesses told Turkish television that guests had been dancing and enjoying themselves when the explosion, which was loud enough to be heard several neighborhoods away, tore into those celebrating.

Guests who survived the attack described the situation. “We couldn’t see anything. Nothing but body parts,” the groom’s brother, Sukru Akdogan, told the Anadolu news agency.

It's not clear how the young suicide bomber penetrated the event, if the bomber triggered the explosion or it was remotely triggered. The local prosecutor said that fragments of a suicide vest had been recovered at the scene.