At least 44 people killed in attack on wedding

Interior Minister Besir Atalay told reporters in a televised press conference that eight people were detained following the attack in the village of Bilge in the southeastern province of Mardin and said it was unlikely that the incident was a terror attack.

"The state prosecutor has been working all night, listening to the accounts of eyewitnesses. Eight people have been caught and detained, and their weapons confiscated. This can be understood as a blood feud between two families," Atalay said.

"Evidence so far shows it was not the work of a terrorist group," Atalay told reporters when asked if the terror organization PKK was behind the attack.

Most of the dead and the detained have the same surname, the Turkish interior minister added.

Atalay, Turkish Justice Minister Sadullah Ergin and Agriculture Minister Mehdi Eker arrived in the village, which was surrounded by soldiers who cut all roads leading to it. Authorities also implemented a curfew in the village in the Mazidagi district.

AUTHORITIES CONDEMN

Speaking at a party group meeting in the capital, Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan confirmed that based on the information he received, the attack was the result of enmity between two families and not a terror attack.

Erdogan condemned the attack, one of the worst involving civilians in the country's modern history, and called everybody to fulfill their responsibilities to ensure there is no repeat of such incidents.

"As a result of this incident, I ask the universities in the region, the media, non-governmental organizations, education institutions and opinion makers to take action."

"No kind of tradition can justify this killing, no conscience can justify this kind of pain," he also said.

Turkish President Abdullah Gul also condemned the attack and said that outmoded traditions and practices should be placed under the spotlight. "Such primitive and violent acts that cause deep suffering can never be justified," he said in a written statement.

Four large earth-movers were seen digging graves for the victims on the edge of the village on Tuesday morning.

The main opposition Republican People's Party, or CHP, has also sent a delegation to investigate the attack, the Anatolian Agency reported.

BRIDE, GROOM AMONG DEAD

The attack occurred during the engagement of the daughter of Cemil Celebi, a former village headman who was among the wounded, according to reports.

The bride, Sevgi Celebi, the groom, Habib Ari, his mother and sister were all killed, as was the imam who was presiding over the engagement at time of the attack, which lasted 15 minutes, the agency added.

Turkish media initially described the gathering as a wedding celebration. However, media outlets later used a term which refers to an engagement ceremony.

"There were a few people, they broke into the house and started spraying the place with bullets, hitting both men and women, their faces were covered with masks," a 20-year-old female eyewitness who declined to be named told Reuters.

She said there were some 200 people at the party.

One survivor, a 19-year-old woman, told broadcaster NTV that the assailants ordered people to huddle in one room and then opened fire.

Anatolian Agency said the attack occurred when people were praying at the house, citing other witnesses.

Photo: DHA