Thirteen suspects charged in deadly Istanbul airport bombings, reports say
Thirteen suspects, including 10 Turks, were charged on Sunday for the Istanbul airport suicide bombings, the deadliest of several attacks to strike Turkey's biggest city this year, the Dogan news agency reported.
Turkish officials have pointed blame at the Islamic State (IS) group for Tuesday's gun and bomb spree at Ataturk airport, which left 45 people dead, including 19 foreigners.
The suspects, who are in police custody, were charged with belonging to a terror group, homicide and endangering the unity of the state, Dogan reported, without providing the foreigners' nationalities.
The defendants were jailed pending trial by a judge at Bakirkoy Peace Court, a security source told Anadolu news agency on condition of anonymity amid restrictions on talking to the media.
Turkey's Prime Minister Binali Yildirim, meanwhile, gave some new details on the probe, saying police had arrested a total of 29 to date over the attacks, including foreigners.
Officials had previously said the three bombers were a Russian, an Uzbek and a Kyrgyz national.
"Everything will be unveiled in due time," Yildirim said. "We are carrying out a vast inquiry in this case."
Istanbul authorities said on Sunday that 49 people wounded in the attack were still being treated, with 17 in intensive care.
Turkish media have identified the strike's organiser as Akhmed Chatayev, the Chechen leader of an IS cell in Istanbul who reportedly found accommodation for the bombers.
Chatayev allegedly organised two deadly bombings this year in the heart of the city's Sultanahmet tourist district and the busy Istiklal shopping street, the Hurriyet newspaper said.
Turkey has been rocked by a series of attacks in the past year blamed on either IS or Kurdish rebels.
These have taken a heavy toll on tourism, and on Friday Germany warned its citizens to exercise particular caution if they travel to Turkey.
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