10 things you need to know today: August 21, 2016

At least 50 dead in Turkish wedding bombing, Rio Olympics end Sunday evening with Closing Ceremony, and more

The aftermath of a terrorist attack in Gaziantep, Turkey
(Image credit: Ilyas Akengin/Getty Images)

1. At least 50 dead in Turkish wedding bombing, ISIS suspected

A suspected suicide bombing killed at least 50 people in Gaziantep, Turkey, on Saturday night while they were dancing at a reportedly Kurdish wedding. "The celebrations were coming to an end and there was a big explosion," said eyewitness Veli Can. "There was blood and body parts everywhere." The bride and groom both survived. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said early Sunday the Islamic State is the "likely perpetrator" of the terrorist attack, but Erdogan also claimed there is "no difference" between ISIS and two other groups that oppose his government: the Kurdistan Workers Party, which is itself fighting ISIS, and the following of elderly cleric Fethullah Gülen, who lives in exile in Pennsylvania. In a statement Sunday afternoon, Erdogan said the bomber is believed to have been about 13 years old.

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Bonnie Kristian

Bonnie Kristian was a deputy editor and acting editor-in-chief of TheWeek.com. She is a columnist at Christianity Today and author of Untrustworthy: The Knowledge Crisis Breaking Our Brains, Polluting Our Politics, and Corrupting Christian Community (forthcoming 2022) and A Flexible Faith: Rethinking What It Means to Follow Jesus Today (2018). Her writing has also appeared at Time Magazine, CNN, USA Today, Newsweek, the Los Angeles Times, and The American Conservative, among other outlets.