Wanted Chechen IS jihadist Chatayev killed in Georgia siege

Video caption, The siege lasted for 20 hours

Georgia says a Chechen jihadist killed in a clash with special forces in the Georgian capital Tbilisi was the suspected organiser of a terror attack on Istanbul airport last year.

Akhmed Chatayev, a member of so-called Islamic State (IS), was among three militants killed during a 20-hour siege in Tbilisi a week ago.

Georgian state security said DNA tests had confirmed that Chatayev blew himself up in the besieged apartment.

The Istanbul attack killed 45 people.

Turkish authorities named Chatayev as the suspected organiser. The airport was rocked by several suicide bomb blasts, and three attackers also died in the mayhem. Turkey blamed it on IS.

Carnage after Istanbul airport attack

Image source, AFP

Image caption, Last week Georgian special forces swooped on an apartment block on the outskirts of Tbilisi

The deputy head of administration at Georgia's state security service, Nino Giorgobiani, said US counter-terrorism experts had helped to investigate the Tbilisi militant group.

Chatayev and two unidentified accomplices were cornered by Georgian forces in a densely populated suburb of Tbilisi. Neighbours were evacuated before special forces exchanged fierce volleys of gunfire with the group, who had refused to negotiate.

One of the Georgian officers was killed and four were wounded in the clash.

Chatayev had been detained by Georgian police in 2012 for possession of explosives, but had left Georgia after being released on bail.