WORLD BRIEFING / TURKEY

Masked assailants with grenades and automatic weapons attacked an engagement ceremony in southeastern Turkey, killing 45 people. Two girls survived after the bodies of slain friends fell on top of them during the onslaught.

Some media outlets reported that a “blood feud” among families had led to the killings in a village near the city of Mardin where tribal ties and rivalries sometimes eclipse the power of the state.

Mehmet Besir Ayanoglu, the mayor of Mardin, told Turkey’s Channel 24 that he spoke to two survivors, both girls, who said at least two masked men stormed a house where the ceremony was held. Other reports put the number of assailants at four.

“They raided the house; we were in two rooms; they opened fire on everyone; they were wearing masks,” Ayanoglu quoted the girls as saying. The girls said they stayed underneath the bodies of friends until the attack was over.