At least 44 people have been killed in an attack on a wedding party in Turkey's mainly Kurdish southeast, an official said, as witnesses suggested a clan feud may be behind the shooting.
Around 10 people were wounded in the massacre in Bilge in yesterday, a small village in the province of Mardin, the official from the governor's office told AFP on the condition of anonymity.
Villagers said that the shooting might be linked to a dispute between families, and even a full-fledged blood feud. There were conflicting reports about how the incident occurred.
Four masked men, each coming from a different direction, hurled hand grenades and then opened fire at the crowd just as an imam, or a Muslim preacher, was performing a religious ceremony, the Milliyet newspaper reported on its website.
The assailants managed to escape in the dark as a sandstorm further worsened visibility in the area, several dozen miles from the Syrian border, it said, adding that most victims were women and children.
The Haberturk news channel said the assailants herded women and children into a room and then sprayed them with bullets.
{{/usCountry}}The Haberturk news channel said the assailants herded women and children into a room and then sprayed them with bullets.
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