ISTANBUL, Sept 10 (AFP) - One of the prime suspects in the deadly suicide bombings in Istanbul last November is believed to have been killed during US bombardments in Iraq, the Turkish television news channel NTV reported Friday.
NTV aired grainy footage of a body, believed to be that of Habib Aktas, taken from a videotape sent earlier in the day by an Islamist group to the Turkish press agency Ihlas.
The Turkish-language voice-over said Aktas was a "great fighter who took part in the war against the Americans" and "died a martyr."
NTV said that Aktas was killed during US bombardments two days ago in Iraq's volatile Al-Anbar province, west of Baghdad. Turkish authorities said they could not confirm his death.
Last November 15, two attacks targeted the Neve Shalom and Beth Israel synagogues during Sabbath prayers in the historical heart of Istanbul, killing the two assailants and 27 other people.
Five days later another 32 people, including two assailants, died in suicide car bombings at the British consulate and the British-based HSBC bank in the city.
Nearly 700 other people were injured in the series of attacks.
After transiting through Syria in the wake of the Istanbul attacks, Aktas joined the Iraqi Islamist group Tawhid wal Jihad (Unification and Holy War) which has ties to Osama bin Laden's terror network, NTV said.
An Ihlas official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP that the videotape had been turned over to one of its correspondents in Iraq after going through several intermediaries.
Aktas' wife, Cemile, is to go on trial before an Istanbul court next week along with 68 other people implicated in the attacks.