Report: 3 suspects plead guilty in Turkish engagement party attack that killed 44

Report: 3 plead guilty in engagement party attack

ANKARA, Turkey — A television station is reporting that three suspects, including a teenager, have pleaded guilty in the killing of 44 people in an attack on an engagement party in May.

NTV television says eight others denied involvement in the rampage in Turkey’s mostly Kurdish southeast. The engaged couple died, as did an Islamic cleric and guests, including six children and three pregnant women.

Those who admitted guilt are a father, his 14-year-old son and another relative. The father said at the opening of the trial Wednesday that the attack was meant to safeguard the family honor because of rumors of an affair between his wife and one of the victims.

The trial is being held behind closed doors because the accused teenager and some of the witnesses are minors.