Turkey: 36 IS suspects charged over peace rally attack

ANKARA, Turkey – Turkish prosecutors are seeking several consecutive life sentences for dozens of suspects accused of involvement in twin suicide bombings that killed 103 people outside Ankara’s train station last year, the state-run news agency reported Wednesday.

There was no claim of responsibility for the Oct. 10, 2015 attack that targeted a peace rally, but Turkish authorities blamed the attack on home-grown Islamic State militants.

Anadolu Agency said that in its indictment, the Ankara prosecutor’s office has charged some of the 36 suspects with crimes against the state, killing some 100 people, attempting to kill 391 people who were hurt in the attack and possession of arms and explosives. Anadolu said they would collectively face more than 11,000 years in prison, but didn’t provide a breakdown. Others face more than 22 years in prison for membership in an armed terror group, the agency said.

A trial date has not yet been set.

The suspects include Ilhami Bali, an alleged IS chief in Turkey and a Kazakh national identified as Walentina Slobodjanjuk, according to Anadolu.