Turkey: Gunmen attack a wedding killing 44 guests

Ankara, May 5: A normal wedding party in a village in Turkey turned bloody when unidentified gunmen killed 44 persons attending the wedding party on Monday, May 4.

Reports from the village of Sultankoy in Turkey's south eastern Mardin Province, quoted acting governor Ahmet Ferhat Ozen as saying, "The assailants, wearing masks, stormed a building in the village of Sultankoy, some 20 km (12 miles) from Mardin, and opened fire on wedding guests."

Hospital officials said that apart from the 44 killed, at least 17 others were injured.

Ozen said the number of dead could rise. Ambulances rushed the injured to Mardin and local residents were called in to the hospital to donate blood.

Television broadcasters said there had been a blood feud in the village in recent years. State-run news agency Anatolian reported the daughter of the village chief, called a muhtar, was being married when the attack occurred.

Turkish Interior Minister Besir Atalay said on Tuesday, May 5 that preliminary evidence indicated that an attack on a wedding party, which claimed the lives of at least 45 people, was not the work of terrorists.

ANI