Binali Yildirim says Turkey does 'not have a clue' who carried out deadly Kurdish wedding bombing

Turkish authorities are unsure if a suicide bomb attack on a Kurdish wedding in Gaziantep that killed at least 54 people on Saturday (20 August) was carried out by a child. The statement by Prime Minister Binali Yildirim contradicted earlier claims by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who said a suicide bomber aged "between 12 and 14" was behind the deadly assault.

"We are not in a position to verify anything about who the perpetrator was – if it was a child, an adult, or for which organisation," Yildirim told reporters in Ankara on Monday (22 August).

"We do not have a clue about who the perpetrators behind the attack were," he added. "Early information on who did the attack, in what organisation's name, is unfortunately not right."

Erdogan pointed the finger at the Islamic State (Isis) in the aftermath of the blast near the Syrian border. No group has claimed responsibility for the deadliest attack in Turkey this year.

Despite the uncertainty, Yildirim vowed that security agencies would determine who was responsible for the massacre. "Those who were behind the attack will be revealed, there is no doubt about this," he said.

Media reports suggest most of the victims were teenagers or children. So far, 29 of the 44 victims who have been identified were under the age of 18. Some 66 people are still in hospital and 14 of them are in a serious condition, according to Dogan news agency.

On Monday (22 August), Turkey launched separate strikes on IS (Daesh) and Kurdish positions in northern Syria. Turkish forces fired on IS and Kurdish YPG targets in Jarablus and Manbij respectively.

Earlier, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu pledged to "completely cleanse" the country's border regions of IS militants.

Joe Biden will become the first White House official to visit Turkey this week since July's failed coup attempt. The US Vice President is scheduled to hold high-level talks with Erdogan and Yildirim during his one-day visit to the Turkish capital on Wednesday (24 August).