A Turkish court sentenced seven suspected al Qaida militants to life in prison for the deadly 2003 bombings in Istanbul.

Suspected al-Qaida militants charged over the 2003 suicide bombings in Istanbul delivered their final defence in court today.

Police intensified security around a prison and court in Istanbul today amid reports of an alleged al- Qaida plot to kidnap an Islamic militant.

A Turkish prosecutor, in the presence of British police officials, today questioned a suspected al-Qaida militant over the decapitation of British engineer Kenneth Bigley in Iraq, the state-run Anatolia news agency has reported.

The decapitated body of British engineer Kenneth Bigley is buried in a ditch at an entrance to the city of Fallujah in Iraq, the lawyer of a suspected al-Qaida militant who allegedly ordered Mr Bigley’s death said on Saturday.