Turkey nabs fugitive FETO terror suspects

By Yusuf Koyun and Rauf Maltas

ADANA/SANLIURFA, Turkey (AA) - Turkish security forces have arrested two fugitives with alleged links to Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the group behind the defeated coup in 2016, in separate operations, according to security sources on Monday.

Acting on a tip that a FETO suspect sought with an arrest warrant was at regular times visiting an olive garden in southern Adana province's Kozan district, gendarmerie and police forces arrested A.U. in a joint operation as he was leaving the garden, according to a security source, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

The suspect was being sought over charges of being a member of the FETO terror group and breach of confidence due to service.

In the southeastern Sanliurfa province, a female FETO suspect was arrested while hiding in a secret section of her house, said the provincial security directorate.

In a written statement, the directorate said the woman was a user of the terror group’s encrypted smartphone messaging app ByLock and has been on the run for the last three years.

Raiding her house, the police teams arrested Z.T. inside a secret section reached through her wardrobe.

FETO and its US-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup of 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 Sena Guler in Ankara.