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PROGRAMMED TO KILL

ISIS child suicide bomber, 12, who killed 51 people at Turkish wedding was blown up by REMOTE CONTROL – as mass graves are dug for victims

Turkish authorities are struggling to identify all of the victims following the devastating attack

THE vest of an ISIS child suicide bomber who killed 51 wedding guests was detonated by remote control, Turkey's president has revealed.

The wedding party had been dancing in the street in the southern Turkish city of Gaziantep, about 40 miles from the Syrian border, when the bomb exploded in one of the deadliest attacks this year.

And Turkish president Tayyip Erdogan confirmed he believed the boy's bomb had been exploded by someone else - killing scores.

More than 50 people were killed in the attack, now believed to have been committed by a suicide bomber no older than 14-years-old
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More than 50 people were killed in the attack, now believed to have been committed by a suicide bomber no older than 14-years-oldCredit: Twitter
People gather near the explosion which ripped through a narrow street as wedding guests danced
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People gather near the explosion which ripped through a narrow street as wedding guests dancedCredit: Getty Images
Many of the wounded people are still in hospital around the province receiving treatment
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Many of the wounded people are still in hospital around the province receiving treatmentCredit: Getty Images
A man and a woman mourn next to a body of one the victims
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A man and a woman mourn next to a body of one the victimsCredit: Reuters
Turkey's president Recep Tayyip Erdogan confirmed it was likely the bomb had been detonated remotely
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Turkey's president Recep Tayyip Erdogan confirmed it was likely the bomb had been detonated remotelyCredit: Getty Images

He said: "[The blast] was the result of a suicide bomber who either detonated (the bomb) or others detonated it."

Since the attack, Erdogan has blamed the murders on Islamic State and said the killer was aged between 12 and 14.

Haunting images have now emerged of mass graves which have been dug for some of the 51 victims.

Men were in floods of tears as they carried coffins at a funeral for some of the victims.

The bombing is the deadliest in Turkey this year with the local governor's office confirming 51 deaths.

More are still being treated in hospitals around the province.

Veli Can, 25, said: "The celebrations were coming to an end and there was a big explosion among people dancing.

"There was blood and body parts everywhere."

Haunting pictures show the mass graves dug for the 51 people killed as they danced at a wedding
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Haunting pictures show the mass graves dug for the 51 people killed as they danced at a weddingCredit: Getty Images
Women gesture as they kneel by a grave in Turkey during the funeral
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Women gesture as they kneel by a grave in Turkey during the funeralCredit: Getty Images
Some of the funerals will have to wait because many victims were blown to pieces and can't be identified yet
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Some of the funerals will have to wait because many victims were blown to pieces and can't be identified yetCredit: Getty Images
A relative of one of the victims killed weeps after the horrific attack
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A relative of one of the victims killed weeps after the horrific attackCredit: EPA
Hundreds of people gathered to mourn those killed in the suicide bombing
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Hundreds of people gathered to mourn those killed in the suicide bombingCredit: Reuters

Blood stains were strewn across the walls of the narrow lane where the brutal massacre took place.

Women sobbed as they waited outside the morgue for an update on missing relatives.

At least 12 people were buried on Sunday, 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, security sources said.

The pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party, or HDP, said in a statement that the wedding was for one of its members, and women and children had been among those killed.

"It was carried out like an atrocity," witness Ibrahim Ozdemir said. "We want to end these massacres.

 

"We are in pain, especially the women and children."

Tensions have mounted in Turkey since a failed coup on July 15 by rogue elements of the military.

Thousands have since been arrested or sacked in the military, police, civil service, judiciary and academia in a crackdown on what President Tayyip Erdogan calls a vast terrorist conspiracy.

Bombings have torn at the fabric of Turkey which is seen by Western nations as an important ally and buffer against instability in Syria and Iraq.

Three suspected ISIS suicide bombers killed 44 people at Istanbul's main airport in July, the deadliest in a string of attacks in Turkey this year.

Almost 40 people were killed in a suicide bomb attack in Ankara in March that was claimed by a Kurdish group.

Last night in Iraq a child suicide bomber had his suicide vest removed by brave policemen in heart-stopping scenes from the city of Kirkuk.


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