Child Used in Suicide Attack on Wedding that Kills at Least 51, Turkey's President Says

— -- A child was used in a suicide bombing attack that killed at least 51 people at an outdoor wedding party in Turkey, Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.

Erdogan, who earlier on Sunday linked the attack to the terror group ISIS, said in an address live on national television in front of Istanbul's City Hall, that the attacker was between 12 and 14 years old. He said 69 people were wounded, 17 of them in critical condition.

The attack took place in Gaziantep, a city along that country's border with Syria.

"It was clear that Daesh had such an organization in Gaziantep or was attempting to make room for itself in recent times," Erdogan said, using an alternative name for ISIS. "Many intensive operations were conducted, are being conducted. Of course our security forces will be conducting these operations with even greater intensity."

Prime Minister Binali Yildirim condemned the "devilish" bombing, which he said turned "a wedding party into a place of mourning."

In Gaziantep, Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Simsek and the country's health minister visited the wounded and the site of the attack.

"This is a massacre of unprecedented cruelty and barbarism," Simsek told reporters. "We are united against all terror organizations. They will not yield."

Hundreds of residents gathered near the site that police had sealed off chanting "Allah is great."

The attack comes as the country is still reeling from last month's failed coup attempt, which the government has blamed on U.S.-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen and his followers. Gulen denies any involvement.