Turkey: 4 FETO-linked terror suspects arrested

By Meric Urer, Hakan Mehmet Sahin

IZMIR/EDIRNE, Turkey (AA) - Police arrested four in western Turkey on Monday over suspected links to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the terror group behind the 2016 defeated coup.

Turkish police arrested two suspected senior FETO members in anti-terror raid in two locations in western Izmir province, according to security sources.

The arrests came after prosecutors in the western Izmir province issued warrants for the suspects accused of being "covert imams" -- senior FETO members leading terror group members who infiltrated the armed forces -- said the sources, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

Separately, police in the northwestern Edirne province arrested two suspected members of FETO and one member of the YPG/PKK terror group as they attempted to cross to Greece.

FETO and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup on July 15, 2016, which left 251 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured.

Ankara also 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 Burak Dag