ANKARA
Turkey strongly condemned Thursday's militant attack -- claimed by the al-Shabaab group -- on northern Kenya's Garissa University College, leaving at least 151 people dead.
"We strongly condemn this atrocious attack, and we wish God’s mercy on those who lost their lives, convey our sympathies to their families and wish for the speedy recovery of the wounded," the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement on late Thursday.
"In this critical period, it is important for the international community to give more support to Kenya," the statement said.
Turkey will continue to give every kind of support to Kenya in its fight against terrorism, it added.
Militants stormed the campus early Thursday, holding hostage an unknown number of students for nearly 16 hours.
Thursday’s attack is the worst Kenya has suffered at the hands of al-Shabaab insurgents.
The Al-Qaeda-linked group has vowed to carry out attacks in Kenya as long as the East African country keeps troops in Somalia.
In late 2013, Al-Shabaab gunmen stormed Nairobi's Westgate Mall, holding hundreds of victims hostage. The four-day siege left 67 dead, including all of the assailants.
Kenya's worst terror attack took place in 1998 when 213 victims were killed in the bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi -- an operation claimed by al-Qaeda.
