30 FETO-linked terror suspects arrested across Turkey

By Cankut Dasdan

ANKARA (AA) - At least 30 people with suspected links to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the group behind the 2016 defeated coup in Turkey, were arrested in countrywide raids, authorities said on Tuesday.

This came after prosecutors in the capital Ankara issued arrest warrants for 47 suspects as part of probe into the terror group’s infiltration of the military.

A statement by the Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office in Ankara said the suspects were found to be in contact with FETO members via payphone.

Thirty of the suspects were arrested in Ankara-based operations conducted simultaneously in 17 cities across Turkey, while the hunt continued for the remaining suspects.

FETO and its US-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016, in which 251 people were martyred and 2,734 injured.

Ankara accuses FETO of being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police, and judiciary.

*Writing by Havva Kara Aydin