enhanced by google



Gunmen kill 44 in wedding massacrePlay

Gunmen kill 44 in wedding massacre

Published: Tuesday, 5 May 2009, 7:14AM

At least 44 people have been shot dead after gunmen opened fire at a wedding ceremony in a village in Turkey.

Some media outlets reported that a "blood feud" among families had led to the killings in a region where tribal ties and rivalries sometimes eclipse the power of the state.

The attack is understood to have wiped out and entire family, including six children aged between three and 12.

The fate of the bride and groom was not immediately known.

Turkey's Interior Minister Besir Atalay confirmed 44 people were killed and six others were wounded during the attack in the village of Bilge near the city of Mardin. He ruled out involvement of Kurdish rebels.

Ambulances took at least 17 bodies to the morgue of a hospital in Mardin, said local officials.

Relatives waiting outside a local hospital said they had rushed down after hearing of the attack on television only to learn their family members had been killed.

© Independent Television News Limited 2009. All rights reserved.