Turkey sentences six to life over Istanbul airport attack

A Turkish court on Friday sentenced six suspected Islamic State militants to life in jail over the 2016 triple suicide bombing of Istanbul's main airport that killed 45 people, local media reported.

The six were convicted of murder, violating the constitution and damaging property, according to the official Anadolu news agency.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack at Ataturk Airport on 28 June 2016 but Turkey said the Islamic State group was behind the airport blasts. 

The court indictment said IS had "targeted the Turkish republic" with the attack.

Turkish media had previously identified the man who organised the assault as Akhmed Chatayev, the Chechen leader of an IS cell in Istanbul who reportedly found accommodation for the bombers.

Nineteen foreigners were among those killed in the suicide bombings.

Forty-six suspects - one third of them Russian nationals - were on trial in connection with the attack. 

There were no immediate details on the remaining suspects.

Turkey has been victim of numerous bomb attacks and shootings since Syria's war began in 2011, blamed on IS and Kurdish militants.

Turkey has among European countries been struck with among some of the highest number of bombings claimed by IS. 

More than 300 civilians have been killed by IS bombings since 2013. 

On 1 January 2017, a gunman who pledged allegiance to IS shot and killed at least 39 people and wounded at least 70 at an Istanbul nightclub. 

Follow us on Twitter: @The_NewArab